(Tom) This week on Arizona Illustrated, meet the artist who's making downtown Tucson beautiful, one mural at a time.

(Ignacio) It was quite an experience, emotionally, I think, because overall the people's response, especially the true native of Tucson, to see them really reflect who they are.

(Tom) Museums were severely impacted by COVID-19, how they've adapted on the long road to recovery.

(Morgan) We've seen a lot of programs change post-COVID.

It took us a few years to really begin to bounce back as far as our attendance.

(Tom) Our ongoing desert plant series continues with the aromatic Beebrush.

(Jack) Unlike so many of our desert species that are conspicuously armed with vicious thorns or hooks, this plant is completely thornless, safe to the touch.

(Tom) And finding creativity, sustainability through other people's clothes.

(Devany) Not only it makes it more special when you find something you really like because you worked to get it, but also a lot of times I'll have people come up to me and be like, "Where do you get this?

This is so cool."

And I'm like, "Oh, I thrifted it.

It's unique."

[Music] Hello and welcome to Arizona Illustrated.

I'm Tom McNamara.

Ignacio Garcia, the artist behind this temporary piece downtown, is one of Tucson's most cherished and beloved muralists with over 40 murals around the city.

His mission is to make Tucson an outdoor gallery using walls as his canvas to tell the story of the community.

♪ SERENE GUITAR MUSIC (Ignacio) People that come and visit Tucson, first thing they say is they've never seen murals like this before with the quality, the vibrancy, and I think that's probably why what I'm trying to do is to kind of reflect what Tucson really is all about.

Just telling the story of the community.

♪ SERENE GUITAR MUSIC I would consider myself the third generation of artistry.

My grandfather was a carpenter.

He used to do a lot of woodwork.

I have an uncle that was a designer.

Just being exposed by that creativity and that family being so free-minded in that way.

Yeah, I think it's just in my blood.

I drew a lot.

I loved to sketch.

I always try to create my own little paints, whatever I could do I think painting was like a meditation to me, you know.

It was a way to kind of escape the world and kind of go into my little fantasy world.

I just remember being in school and seeing a box of pastels in the trash and I like looked at that.

I'm like, what is that?

And I looked at it and I just took it home and just kind of started off with that.

I was dumpster diving, definitely for sure on that, yeah.

I've been told like, do you have a gallery?

It's like, actually I do.

They're like, where?

It's all around downtown.

And that's the goal is like you're walking into a library of art in the public and you're actually seeing like oh I never thought that the desert could be so colorful.

Here we're approaching the uh empowered woman.

It's one of those murals that get a lot of attention and a great way to kind of represent women and Tucson So it has a lot of cool elements about this piece.

So there she is.

I try to make it look as timeless as possible.

without making it dated.

So that's another thing too like trying to balance that out that it can hold time.

Compile all these ideas into one.

There's a lot of thought that went through.

But yeah you can see it.

I have like family descents from the Sonoran Desert.

So from here from Mexico all the way to the United States.

So it's like home like the Sonoran Desert is like in my blood.

It's like very extreme but yet again beautiful.

And that's how I kind of describe my paintings.

It's like the first thing you look at is the beauty of it but you dive in even deeper there's a lot of extreme elements to it.

Here's La Guitarista.

So this one I finished this last year.

And it took me a month to paint this.

We had a hawk here.

I'm like maybe six feet away from the wall You know you get these hawks going right in between me fast with pigeons and stuff.

And so and they get bird poop you know.

So this is yeah it's pretty it's pretty wild.

Before I painted this it was another mural that I did.

It's like a tattoo you know.

You get a tattoo and then sometimes you want to cover it up and it gets old.

It's the same It was there for eight years you know.

And then after that we decided to go something uh- something traditional and colorful.

And even when it starts fading I think it's going to give it much better to kind of give it more a classical you know like a vintage vibe to it.

♪ WESTERN INSPIRED GUITAR MUSIC ♪ And when I paint I have to listen to music constantly I cannot have it quiet.

So in fact if I have to work on a subject that's like like a western theme.

I like to listen to like western music you know even Tejano music.

I have to country music.

You transform your mind and you're part of that imagination Somehow you're just you start connecting the dots consciously and you start like okay maybe I need to intensify the color more orange more southwestern and sure nothing kind of goes to that.

It was quite an experience emotionally I think because overall the people's response especially the the true native of Tucson to see them really reflect who they are.

That was something very special and emotional for me.

This is one of the teachers that comes and sees my work every day with the with the students.

And what do they do every day?

-They clap they clap -Yeah -They love it.

I just found out last week I did a little presentation for these preschoolers and then towards the end I get this little tug on my shoulder on my shirt and they're like "hey you know my little brother's name after you" I'm like oh that's cute and the teacher comes and she's like "yeah it's true.

Her mother named her son Ignacio because she's a big fan of your work."

I'm like whoa it still kind of throws me off but I'm flattered you know but it's cute.

And she's all happy she's like "my little brother's name is Ignacio."

So I'm going to be finishing up today or tomorrow and then that's it -So proud of you.

-Thank you.

I do like music I know I would have I would have been involved in music for sure.

I did my tattoo experience for many years too but I I fulfilled that but if it had if I had no creativity I don't even know what I'll be doing.

It's sometimes, especially this one, it's really hard to take pictures, especially when the sun is above it.

But right now it's actually perfect to kind of look at it.

So there it is.

The Running of the Piñatas.

And I love this right here.

Do not enter.

My name is Val, and I'm on a wall.

You know that my dad don't tall.

I'm the son of Ignacio Garcia, and I'm on a wall.

He takes me out to the basketball court, and I'm like, okay, this is kind of interesting.

He's like, act like you're running.

We did it about like eight or five times, and my dad was like, if you don't get it right, I'm going to have your cousin do it.

He really was going to do it.

It was a total surprise.

(Ignacio) Over here, Val.

This way.

You did that?

(Ignacio) Who's that?

Myself.

(Ignacio) Come here.

I'm surprised.

I hate my chancla fell off.

How do you even do that?

(Val) If I ever want to brag about myself, I'll just be like, yeah, well, I was on a mural.

(Ignacio) He has something very unique that's completely on his own.

I'm a big fan of his work.

I'm that way.

Yeah, in fact, he sold already a few paintings because of his creative mindset.

So he's the fourth Ignacio.

Yeah, my grandfather is Ignacio.

My dad is Ignacio.

They're all in the middle names.

So my name is Jose Ignacio Garcia.

I never knew that until I was in second grade.

I swear to God, true story.

Yeah, I got called into the principal's office for something.

I'm like, am I in trouble?

Like, no.

It's like, "so Jose, you" need-- it's like, I'm looking back.

It's like, who's Jose?

And then I run home.

I'm like, tell them.

I was like, is my name Jose?

And he goes, "oh, yeah."

I'm like, what?

[MUSIC PLAYING] That's the goal is that you want to be distinct for your own style.

Allowing yourself to try new elements, it creates a new, completely new idea, new style, and that's what makes you stand out from the rest.

We have this diversity of culture that we kind of support each other with no hesitation.

It's just like, we just embrace that.

That's the coolest thing about Tucson that I love.

Overall, it's the community.

I mean, I'm just blessed to know that we all work together.

We all help each other out.

I'm trying to encourage young artists to become muralists.

I think Tucson's a great breeding ground for that, and I want to encourage anyone to come to Tucson and and paint a mural.

I want to see more, more art, more public art, more artists, more different styles of techniques and ideas.

As for here, I got my assistant here too, trying to teach her how to paint, and she's very determined, and so anyone that's very determined more than happy, they can call me I'm more than happy to help and give some advice and tips all that.

So whatever I can do to kind of speed up the process to kind of be creative.

I'm a big believer there's going to be even better artists than me, and even in a unique style than no one's ever seen.

So I'm trying to scout out and see what is out there and whatever I can do to push them out.

I think Tucson would be a great place to be known in the world that, like, if you want to be the muralist, got to go to Tucson.

That's where you're going to get the best of the best.

So that's my goal.

♪ GUITAR MUSIC PLAYING While the pandemic benefited outdoor art galleries and murals like the one you just saw, it hit traditional institutions hard, and bouncing back wasn't going to be easy.

Next, we visit the Tucson Museum of Art and the University of Arizona Museum of Art to see how they've adapted, stayed creative, and found new ways to connect with their communities.

This is part of our ongoing series, "The Long Road, How COVID-19 Changed Our World."

♪ GENTLE MUSIC (Christine) Our museum was hitting a stride for getting ready for our centennial.

And part of that was the construction of a new wing.

We were looking forward to building a new addition to the property for our Latin American art collection.

We were moving forward with a full exhibition schedule.

And then when COVID hit, all of that went on pause.

(Morgan) So before COVID, we did a lot of youth-based programming.

So field trips, afterschool programs, partnerships, those kinds of things, as well as access programs.

So we had worked with the Alzheimer's Association, as well as the VA and doing tours for the visually impaired for the VA. And those all came to a stop when COVID hit.

(Olivia) Like most other institutions, we closed quite abruptly.

We were able to take advantage of that closing time to get a lot of maintenance done.

The staff did a really great job as best as they could.

The word pivot became a common word in their vocabulary.

(Marianna) We thought a lot about how could we be a resource to our community.

We were fortunate where we had a grant and a couple of grant projects that had us looking at community-based initiatives within our work.

And so when COVID happened, we were able to double down, really refocus on what it meant to be a community resource, what it meant to serve our audiences, how could we be relevant and provide a space.

(Morgan) About a month after we came back, we decided to take the chance and offer summer camp in person.

There was definitely a need for those people who needed daycare during that time.

So we still saw about an average of 20 to 30 kids a week.

We ran camp actually for 11 weeks straight until kids went back to school.

We tried to offer a drop-in aftercare program during the school year, which wasn't as successful, but we saw about 10 kids there.

We didn't see a field trip, of course.

Those all went away.

But all of our other programming, such as our family programming, we did like virtually.

So we would send an email every month and we would do a virtual family day.

So that would be like a storytelling or an art making activity all virtual.

With the exhibitions that we had on view, we ended up taking 360 camera views of those exhibitions.

So in a sense, we converted all of those exhibitions into virtual ones.

We started new programming.

We did artist talks on Zoom.

We did monthly art trivia happy hour.

So once a month on a Thursday at five o'clock, we do a one hour trivia session.

We've been doing that almost every single month, going on almost five years now.

Actually, we've seen a lot of programs change post-COVID.

It took us a few years to really begin to bounce back as far as our attendance.

COVID gave us the opportunity to really think local, to like be hyper local in our resource and our activities.

(Christine) We had a lot of space so that you really could walk around without getting in touch with people and, you know, being too close.

So I think that was a benefit.

We've also seen that people's interests have sort of changed.

People are more interested in like active learning experiences.

We've seen a big decline in school field trips.

However, we have seen a huge increase in like day camps and summer camps.

Before COVID hit, we never sold out of summer camp.

Post COVID, we sell out and we sell out early.

(Christine) We'd be better prepared now than we would have ever been as far as outreach and engaging with communities.

We've learned to do a lot of things virtually as far as programming and working with our partners.

(Marianna) I think we're better at like elastic thinking, right?

So thinking about how we can pivot, adapt.

That is a learned skill set out of necessity, right?

From a time of COVID, which hopefully we can think about how to continue to work on because it is like a really magical thing, right?

To be able to realize, well, this isn't working and we should just adapt it.

(Olivia) Well, hopefully it never happens again, but if it does, hopefully it will be less dramatic pivot than it was before.

(Morgan) So I think in the future, if something were to happen again, that we would be able to kind of bounce back quickly because we've been through it before.

The Sonoran Desert is home to thousands of native plants, and beebrush is a fantastic option.

Now it's a drought tolerant shrub that produces flowers for pollinators, has a sensational scent, doesn't stick you with thorns, and it can "Bee" easy to grow.

♪ INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC (Jack) The plant to my right is known as Beebrush, Aloysia Gratissima.

And this is one of my favorite plant names for a couple of reasons.

The genus name Aloysia is one of the few genera of plants named after a woman, Maria Luisa Teresa, wife of the King of Spain.

The species name Gratissima means very gratifying, which I think absolutely encompasses the qualities of this plant.

This is an evergreen, upright shrub with a sort of wispy habit that can easily reach heights of six to eight feet.

It retains its foliage throughout the year, though it's gonna have more dense leaves during the monsoon season than during the winter.

But the best part of this plant is indisputably the flowers.

They occur on tall spikes covered in white flowers that emit a really excellent honey or vanilla fragrance.

These flowers are just as good at attracting humans as they are pollinators.

And even once those flowers have passed, the plants will produce seeds that are a big hit with birds, ensuring that you have wildlife flitting from branch to branch in your backyard.

And unlike some of our plants that have a narrow bloom season, this species will explode into profuse blossoms anytime we get an increase in humidity or a small amount of rainfall, making it an excellent addition to your landscape.

I like to use this plant to line walkways where you can be pleased by the aroma that the flowers are emitting, or I'll use it along the edge of a garden to create a sort of informal hedge and visual screen.

This is a really low water use plant.

I have ones in my yard that I have sorely neglected, but that grow up to a foot a year for me and will reliably bloom whenever we see rain.

With additional moisture, this plant will grow at a faster rate, bloom more often and have lusher foliage.

Unlike so many of our desert species that are conspicuously armed with vicious thorns or hooks, this plant is completely thornless, safe to the touch.

So a great plant to include in a yard where you might have small children playing and want to avoid some of those plants that could potentially harm them if they ran up against them.

If you're looking for a fast growing thornless plant with a pleasing aroma to the flowers that's excellent for attracting pollinators and birds, then look no further than beebrush.

This plant really has everything that a Tucson backyard could need.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING ] Like what you're seeing on Arizona Illustrated?

Then connect with us on social media for even more Arizona Illustrated.

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Like, follow, and subscribe to Arizona Illustrated on Facebook, Instagram, and X. Thrifting.

It's a modern-day treasure hunt where creativity meets sustainability.

And Tucson's thriving art scene is buzzing with a new generation of thrifters.

Now, these passionate resellers aren't just chasing a trend.

They're making an impact, giving fashion a second life.

♪ UPBEAT MUSIC It is an art form that is growing substantially.

(Morgan) a lot of people are getting into it, a lot of people are learning about it, and a lot more people are appreciating it.

(Justin) We started in around 2019 and we are House of Threads.

We throw a lot of markets around town.

(Katherine) We started off selling online on Ebay and then after that we transitioned to a lot of pop-ups.

We've done a pretty good job of growing a community where people and local businesses can sell and show what they have and it kind of helps out the whole community of Tucson.

When I was overseas in Japan, I would always go through all the thrift stores that were over there and just collect random stuff that I thought was cool.

And I just started accumulating all this so when I got out of Marine Corps, I was like, I need to do something with all this.

A lot of Y2K and U of A is what we sell a lot of.

But we sell a lot of everything I'm very simple, I have like eight outfits.

I'll have a Harley shirt on, black pants, and then shoes, that's it.

-He's way better.

-And I'm the opposite -I'm the opposite.

Like me, I always have to plan out my outfits.

I always have to make sure it matches the aesthetic of where we're gonna be as well.

(Producer) So you thought you- the horses?

match the interview?

-A hundred percent -Yeah, Tucson Arizona, yeah.

(Justin) When we sell around the U of A, we usually like to start at $10, 10 to like 20.

And we do have some higher end items, but we like to give out some deals.

Someone who doesn't really know about vintage, they're not gonna drop $50 on a t-shirt.

So like $10 shirt's an easy way for someone to get to know vintage.

(Morgan) You've heard the saying, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Kinda gone through that my entire life.

When I was younger, I thrifted with my family all the time.

There wasn't another option.

2020, I started my business, Morgan's Everyday.

And from that, that turned into having a booth here.

To be able to be in this space to represent that clothing is very versatile.

It's not catered to one gender.

I love to be able to be that for people.

Today, I will be selling at Greek Street.

My booth consists of girls and guys clothes.

♪ POP MUSIC (Yulisa) I have to go party, to go to school, like joggers, like pants, leggings, and then I have business casusal, but I have everything.

Whatever you like, you'll find it here.

My boyfriend and I would just go to the thrift stores all the time, go look for clothes and stuff.

And then it just started like that.

A lot of this stuff, it was mine, and it was in my closet.

Everything started as a hobby, and now I'm here.

Greek Street Vintage, we founded like the spring of last semester.

(Si Bohrer) I connected with two of my good friends, Blythe and Izzy, and I mentioned that I would be happy to donate to their philanthropy, which is the Jed Foundation.

They were really looking for a vintage event for the growing sense of fashion with vintage and secondhand clothing.

And so we felt like we really wanted to get something established here on campus for the students.

[ CHUCKLES ] I was actually going to class, and I missed class because I wanted to look at all the clothes.

The sign caught my eye.

It was like three shirts for like 20 bucks.

So I was like, okay, let's see what they have.

Death Row Productions shirt, a little oversized, and I'm obsessed with Star Wars.

So I really liked this one.

This was the best one I found.

I am from Mexico, so I live with my sister, and we actually both really like thrifting together like all the time.

Not only it makes it like more special when you find something you really like, because you worked to get it, but also a lot of times I'll have people come up to me and be like, "where do you get this?"

"This is so cool."

And I'm like, "oh, I thrifted it."

It's unique.

Sometimes it's hard to afford more expensive clothes, so it's a really good option to find stylish things that you like or that you can cut up and customize to your own way.

I just love loving something again, like giving it a second home and taking it in.

That's the best part.

(Yulisa) I like to get stuff that's older and add a little stuff from the new and then just make it together and just make a whole new piece.

You can still use it.

It's still trendy, but it's old.

(Si Bohrer) Fashion amongst young people is like an ever-evolving space, that I feel like every six months there's a new clothing trend.

The point-and-click aspect of shopping on the computer and on the phone is like- just become an outdated, boring experience.

And I think thrifting makes it a much more personal event.

Like, I go out and I'm treasure hunting and I'm digging for that one piece that I may or may not find.

When you feel like you know that you're getting a deal, you know, let's say I found a Ralph Polo pair of pants that might retail for $80 and I found them at a Goodwill for $4.99.

That just feels good.

(Justin) We'll just drive to different towns.

Like yesterday, I went to Tombstone and I was sourcing out there.

Just looking for yard sales, you know, going into little mom-and-pop shops, just everywhere.

That's the beauty of it though.

It's like a treasure hunt.

It could have holes in it, bleach stains, but people like that stuff because it's a piece of history and we'll bring it back to life.

Wash it up, clean it up, put it on a hanger and someone will want it.

(Morgan) There's always a story behind a piece of antique or vintage.

It's also a great way to be sustainable and that's why I really appreciate the Tucson community.

(Si Bohrer) The amount of fast fashion and just like random junk that someone bought and donated after wearing it one time is unbelievable.

(Yulisa) We are really like making a difference.

It could be just a little bit but at the end of the year a lot of us sell pounds of clothes, finding those pieces and bringing them to life that's what fulfills all my dreams and everything and I love doing this.

I love finding pieces.

I love putting them on.

I love doing this.

(Yulisa) Fashion for me, it could be timeless.

(Si Bohrer) Keep buying vintage.

It's there.

It's an unbelievable supply of clothing that was made in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, early 2000s and it's all in great condition and we don't need to keep wasting these dyes and parabens and our money on stuff that's harmful for the environment.

You can find really really cool stuff in vintage so keep shopping vintage, for sure.

Keep thrifting, keep your eye out, find something.

It's a modern day treasure hunt.

♪ UPBEAT MUSIC OUTRO You know, Arizona Illustrated is more than just a TV show.

We're also a place where students at the University of Arizona can come to learn and gain hands-on experience in the field.

That last story was produced by the talented graduating senior, Emma Diaz, who's been working at AZPM for over a year and has gone above and beyond managing our social media, producing stories, and mentoring other students.

Emma, thank you so much.

We will miss you, and good luck in all you do.

And thank you for joining us here on Arizona Illustrated.

I'm Tom McNamara, we'll see you again next week.