Scottsdale Arts to Celebrate Center's Future with The ARTrageous Gala

As Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts nears the end of its 50th anniversary season, the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts will celebrate the next 50 years at The ARTrageous Gala on April 11.

“We are excited to bookend our golden anniversary season with a spectacular ARTrageous Gala,” said Dr. Gerd Wuestemann, president and CEO of Scottsdale Arts, which operates the center. “After kicking off our anniversary season back in November with the extraordinary Alison Krauss performance, The ARTrageous Gala will celebrate some of the important people who have supported this decades-long success story of art and culture in Scottsdale.”

More than a typical gala, the evening will be a tribute to five decades of creativity, innovation and beauty, made possible by the patrons, artists and champions who shaped the center’s story and that of Scottsdale Arts as a whole.

In addition to operating the Center, Scottsdale Arts’ other departments and ventures include Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale Public Art, Scottsdale Learning & Innovation, Canal Convergence, Civic Center LIVE and Scottsdale Arts @ Cattle Track.

The gala will feature the groundbreaking ceremony for a major remodeling project at the center. The venue’s smaller Stage 2 theater, originally known as “the cinema” when the building first opened in 1975, will become an intimate, modular performance space.

Highlights of The ARTrageous Gala will include acrobatic entertainment, music, food and cocktails. Through exciting performances and special recognitions, the evening will honor the past while setting the stage for what comes next.

“The ARTrageous Gala is our annual opportunity to not only celebrate creativity but also to rally support for the arts here in Scottsdale,” said Alycia Elfstrom, chief development officer for Scottsdale Arts. “It’s a chance to celebrate those who have done this important work in decades past while renewing our commitment to uplifting artistic expression and access to the arts.”

As Wuestemann noted, the gala is a closing bookend to a season-long commemoration of the center’s 50th anniversary. The center first opened to the public in October of 1975, and the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts, then known as the Scottsdale Cultural Council, began operating the center in the mid-1980s.

Visit here to purchase tickets to the gala or call 480-874-4662 or email Elizabeth Covely at ElizabethC@ScottsdaleArts.org to purchase tickets or reserve a table. To become a gala sponsor, contact Covely at the email above.