As director and CEO of the Heard Museum, David Roche looks for great stories that need to be told. Photo by Jillian Rivera Photography @TEvans927 Tom Evans CONTRIBUTING EDITOR museums need to be more than just custodians of art history and culture. They need to be part of the community, and the community needs to be able to see themselves in museums.” The approach is purposefully multigenerational as well. The museum has started a project called “It’s Your Turn,” where every exhibition in the Grand Gallery is accompanied by a program for children to help them understand the art in front of them. At the other end of the spectrum, the museum has received funding to explore creative initiatives for seniors. “We want to be a reflection of the entire community — kids, adults, families, the whole gamut,” Roche said. The 90th anniversary celebration will include an exhibit by the well-known painter David Hockney and his work around Yosemite Valley, paired with indigenous basket weavers from the region — who, despite working a century before Hockney, drew their inspiration from the same natural environment. But it’s not just programming that’s being refreshed. The museum received a $1 million grant from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust to update its courtyard and improve the lobby to improve the overall visitor experience, a project being done over the hot summer months with the goal of opening the Heard even further to Valley residents and visitors. “I like to point out that the Heard is literally in the heart of Phoenix, and I like to think we function like a heart — we breathe life and vitality and passion into the community.” The Heard is not being reinvented, but its innovation in presenting programming plays well into the increased energy toward the arts that’s already being generated in the Valley. “I think culturally Phoenix is truly coming alive,” Roche said. “We have a real benefit — we’re not New York, Boston, Philadelphia or Chicago — we’re a young city and we have all this energy. The timing is actually great if you are in the museum world. There aren’t any real expectations that are attached to museums in Phoenix, and we can write our own script for the 21st century.” To learn more, visit heard.org . 30 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | AUGUST 2019

Arizona Musicfest MICHAEL FEINSTEIN 2/ 14 STEEP CANYON RANGERS 3/ 9 ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY 3/ 2 THE LINDA RONSTADT SONGBOOK MICHAEL BOLTON 2/27 VANESSA WILLIAMS 11/8 JOHN PIZZARELLI TRIO 1/27 THE HOT SARDINES 2/ 11 A SPECIAL VALENTINE IN SONG TONY DANZA 1/ 24 STORIES & STANDARDS CHRIS BOTTI 1/ 31 UNDER THE STREETLAMP 1/ 18 SARA EVANS 11/ 16 480.422.8449 • AZMUSICFEST.ORG FEB 16 - 23 Where Music’s Finest Come to Play! For one week only, some of the nation’s greatest orchestral musicians join together under the direction of Maestro Robert Moody as the Festival Orchestra. Festival Orchestra Week BACK TO BACHARACH 2/ 8 The Stars Shine Brighter in North Scottsdale