Join us for a Monsoon Dinner in the gallery to support Coconino Center for the Arts’ 40th Anniversary! This curated culinary experience features a multi-course dinner featuring local cuisine by renowned Flagstaff chefs, including unique beer and wine pairings, thematically served within a choreographed weather-inspired performance.

CUMULUS: The Art of Meteorology

CUMULUS explores the processes and phenomena of the atmosphere, through art. This exhibition coincides with the Southwest U.S. summer monsoon season to celebrate the iconographic regional weather patterns, while including national and global meteorological perspectives on weather in a rapidly changing climate. Presenting work by 60 artists selected by renowned artist jurors Shonto Begay (Flagstaff, AZ), Christine Cassano (Santa Fe, NM), and Jaewook Lee (Flagstaff, AZ). Exhibition co-curated by legendary Flagstaff meteorologist Lee Born.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: Jeremy Adair • Mie Akatsu • Thomas Bean • Shonto Begay • David Blanchard • Caryn Bopp • Andrea Borsuk • Misha Burstein • Elias Butler • Leah Campbell • Glory Tacheenie Campoy • Christine Cassano • Barbara Dahlstedt • Gina Darlington • Richard Dawavendewa • Barbara Dickinson • Elizabeth Downing • Lindsey Dunnagan • Jyll Ethier-Mullen • Laura Friesel • Mark Frossard • Abigail Gallagher • Jason Gallegos • Lisa Geertsen • Brittany Gilbert • Candace Greenburg • Frederica Hall • Helen Hawley • Brian Klimowski • Jaewook Lee • Amy Lund • Carol Mack • Lara Mann • Daniel Mayer • Vivian McAleavey • Jess Merritt • Ruane Miller • Jane NotidesBenzing • Jimmy Peggie • Andrea Polli • Gerri Rachins • Sophia Shultz • Elise Spaid-Roberts • Jay Tracy • Maria Trunk • Carl Tsosie • Harriette Tsosie • Rhonda Urdang • Katie Vernon • Gwendolyn Waring • Mark Weller • Shelly White • Julie Williams

Jurors’ Award Winners:

  • Jeremy Adair
  • Misha Burstein
  • Helen Hawley

Image credit: Vivian McAleavey | TURMOIL | digital photograph | 16” x 20”

Exhibition Programming

Ekphrastic Poetry Workshop with Jodie Hollander

Date/Time: Saturday, July 27 from 1-3 pm

Experience art at a new level and use it to inspire your writing with Poet Jodie Hollander. In this workshop, participants will respond poetically to Coconino Center for the Arts’ new exhibition Cumulus: The Art of Meteorology. Students will study examples of celebrated poems that respond to or were inspired by art and will be led through a variety of writing activities, ultimately leading to a draft of an original poem. Students will discuss poetic techniques such as the use of vivid imagery, the importance of sonics, how to shape a poetic line as well as techniques for drafting and revision.

Creative Clouds Youth Workshop with Erika Tsouris

Date/Time: Saturday, August 3, 10 – 11 am or 11:30 – 12:30 pm; Ages 7-14

FREE: Registration required

View the amazing CUMULUS art exhibit at Coconino Center for the Arts and create your own cloud art! Artist and educator Erika Tsouras will guide students to create two fun projects: an imaginative painted cloud creature and a beautiful chalk pastel cloudscape. This is a FREE one-hour workshop and no experience is necessary!

All supplies are provided.

Painting Clouds: Plein Air Around Flagstaff – Workshop with Gwen Waring

Date/Time: Saturday, August 10, 3-6 pm

Location: Buffalo Park

The first class in this plein air workshop series. The course will examine and study our local landscapes through painting, to work on learning to see. With luck, there will be clouds, though the lovely setting with be wonderful to consider, too. Though this class is offered as part of a series, you can choose to sign up for one or both of the workshops.

This late afternoon session will include painting in the prairie at Buffalo Park, with a beautiful view of the Peaks. We will meet at the Buffalo Park parking lot. Plan on carrying a simple rig: paints, brushes, sketch pad, paper towels, a small stool or chair, and snacks. Be prepared for a little walking, as we will walk a few hundred feet once we arrive at the park.

Painting Clouds: Plein Air Around Flagstaff – Workshop with Gwen Waring

Date/Time: Saturday, August 17, 3-6 pm

Location: Aspen Corner

The first class in this plein air workshop series. The course will examine and study our local landscapes through painting, to work on learning to see. With luck, there will be clouds, though the lovely setting with be wonderful to consider, too. Though this class is offered as part of a series, you can choose to sign up for one or both of the workshops.

This late afternoon session will include painting in an aspen grove on the edge of Hart Prairie. We will meet at Aspen Corner off the Snowbowl Road. Plan on carrying a simple rig: paints, brushes, sketch pad, paper towels, a small stool or chair, and snacks. Be prepared for a little walking, as we will walk a few hundred feet once we arrive at Aspen Corner.

Mixed Meteorology Youth Art Workshop with Dani Commanda

Date/Time: Wednesday, September 25, 3:30-5 pm

Partnering with the Flagstaff Festival of Science, Coconino Center for the Arts will be hosting a children’s workshop on different cloud formations and making a cloud “rain” using crayons and heat! The current exhibition at Coconino Center for the Arts is Cumulus: The Art of Meteorology and this workshop seeks to explore how  art and science can converge!

Capturing the Sky – the Science of Meteorological Masterpieces with Dr. Brian Klimowski

Date/Time: Wednesday, September 25, 7-7:45 pm

Dr. Brian Klimowski, Meteorologist in Charge, National Weather Service, Flagstaff, will provide lively discussion, analyses, and a deep dive into the science behind the art we call meteorology. Using specific pieces from the CUMULUS exhibition at the Coconino Center for the Arts as examples, Dr. Klimowski will bring alive the science behind the art we see!

Look Up – There’s a Lot to See! with the Flagstaff Cloud Appreciators

Date/Time: Wednesday, September 25, 7:45-8:30 pm

Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen all types of weather and clouds, comets, aurora, and other unusual celestial events that have captivated those with the time to ‘look up’.  The Flagstaff Cloud Appreciators have captured it all, and will provide a glimpse into these amazing events, and a hint of what is to come.

  • Exhibition Dates

    June 29 – September 28, 2024

  • Location
    Main Gallery

  • Opening Reception
    June 29, 2024