Tucson Desert Art Musem showcases Southwestern art

Tucson Desert Art Museum

The Tucson Desert Arts Museum is a relatively new museum devoted to preserving the arts of the Southwest.

The small museum has only 25,000 square feet of space, but crams a lot into it, including exhibit space, classrooms and an auditorium. It opened in 2013.

One of the highlights of the museum is its collection of Navajo and Hopi textiles all created before the 1940s. This collection is stunning, particularly since it was done before computers were commonplace. Today, many Native American weavers plan their designs on a computer. We were particularly impressed with one large wall hanging that blended the colors in the pattern in such a way the piece seemed blurry. There’s no need to clean your glasses here, since there’s nothing wrong with them; it’s just optical art.

The museum also has artifacts, including furniture and Native American weapons, on display. The Four Corners Gallery has an outstanding collection of paintings, jewelry and other handcrafts by Southwestern artists on display. Unlike the rest of the museum, everything is for sale in the Four Corners Gallery.

The Tucson Desert Art Museum is located at 7000 E. Tanque Verde Road in Tucson. It is open from 10 .m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.