Phoenix Art Museum to Debut 2024 Arizona Artist Awards Exhibitions on July 23

Phoenix Art Museum will premiere the 2024 Arizona Artist Awards exhibitions on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, spotlighting new and immersive works by Safwat Saleem, Elizabeth Z. Pineda, and Omar Soto. The exhibitions will be on view through January 25, 2026, and open in conjunction with Pay-What-You-Wish Wednesdays from 3–8 p.m., made possible by SRP and the City of Phoenix.

The evening will also include a free public lecture by Safwat Saleem at 6:30 p.m., discussing his creative practice and career. Advance registration is recommended.

“This year’s award recipients—Safwat Saleem, Elizabeth Z. Pineda, and Omar Soto—demonstrate a profound commitment to storytelling that challenges and redefines identity, visibility, and cultural memory,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum.

Safwat Saleem: The Unrequited Love Institute (T.U.L.I.)

Recipient of the 2024 Scult Family Artist Award, multidisciplinary artist Safwat Saleem presents his first solo exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum in the form of a large-scale, satirical installation. The Unrequited Love Institute weaves together themes of immigrant belonging, cultural preservation, and resistance through objects like orientation videos, number kiosks, and an “immigrant clock.” Known for his sharp wit and visual storytelling, Saleem uses humor to interrogate systems of assimilation and the longing for acceptance in American society.

2024 Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards Exhibition

Also opening July 23 is a group exhibition featuring Elizabeth Z. Pineda and Omar Soto, recipients of the 2024 Sally and Richard Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards.

• Elizabeth Z. Pineda, originally from Mexico City, creates work rooted in nontraditional photographic and bookmaking techniques. Her featured pieces explore themes of migration, displacement, and identity in the Arizona desert, evoking the emotional and physical toll of crossing landscapes of loss.

• Omar Soto (they/them), a DACAmented photographer, presents their series Mediums of Hope, which combines staged imagery with art historical references like The Birth of Venus to reimagine the canon through a QTBIPOC lens. Drawing on fashion, music, and religious symbolism, Soto’s surreal tableaux celebrate queer joy and defiant visibility.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITIONS

The Arizona Artist Awards exhibitions are curated by Christian Ramírez, the Cohn Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art and Director of Engagement at Phoenix Art Museum. They are made possible by the Scult Family Artist Award, the Sally and Richard Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards, and the Cohn Fund for Arts and Culture.

Admission to all exhibitions is included with general museum admission and is free for members and children under 5. Reduced admission is offered during First Fridays (5–8 p.m.) and Wednesdays from 3–8 p.m. For details, visit phxart.org/visit.

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