Check Out Arts Alliance Of The White Mountains’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Arts Alliance Of The White Mountains.

Please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In February, 1999, a group of eight artists from Show Low, AZ and the smaller surrounding communities met to discuss the need to bring Arts and associated culture, including performance, visual, and media arts, to the White Mountain region. They agreed to form an “alliance” to promote the arts and enrich the lives of the people in these communities.
For many years, the Arts Alliance did not have a permanent home. The group met in restaurants, the senior center, and sometimes in members’ homes. Art was displayed in businesses throughout the area or sometimes at street affairs. In 2013, Navajo County leased an unused building to the Arts Alliance for a minimal fee, giving the group a more stable venue. The larger and more permanent location allowed more artists to display their creations. There are now over fifty artists showing their art in the gallery, with works ranging from paintings, ceramics, jewelry, woodworking, photography, and other media.
The Arts Alliance supports all art forms, not just visual arts. There is a twice-monthly Writers’ Group that meets to encourage and critique each other’s writing. There is also a monthly “Share Your Words” evening where writers can read their latest poem or short story or other writing to an audience. The Circle of Healing Arts, a group that explores and practices alternative methods of healing, meets monthly. The gallery hosts a monthly social evening, “Cork and Canvas” with finger foods, wine, and music. Special events have included International Western Music Association concerts as well as rock, folk music, and other genres, children’s ballet performances, youth orchestra performances, one-man plays, and many more.
The gallery offers a variety of classes throughout the year. These range from watercolors, wood fracking, tai chi, jewelry making, stained glass, line dancing, and many more. Hundreds of students of all ages take advantage of learning a new skill or art form. There are also four art shows during the year, one being exclusively for students grades 4-college age. These shows allow budding or part-time artists, who may not be experienced enough to show their work in the gallery, to gain recognition for their talents.
In January, 2025, the board of the Arts Alliance began strategic planning. Where does the organization want to be in three years? Five? Ten? Plans are being drawn up for development of an “Art Village” on the 50 acres owned by Navajo County where the gallery is currently located. If implemented, this would include retail shops, additional classrooms and studios, an outdoor festival grounds, a performance venue, and much more. From its humble beginnings 26 years ago, the Arts Alliance has grown and has big hopes for becoming an “arts destination” in the White Mountain region.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For most of its existence, the Arts Alliance was run solely by volunteers. As with any organization, people have varying degrees of commitment. There was often a lack of leadership, or, when someone was willing to step up, there were varying ideas about how the organization should be handled. However, the fact that the Arts Alliance is still going strong after 26 years speaks to the determination of those volunteers who were dedicated to the mission of building and enriching a creative arts community.
Three years ago, the board recognized the need for creating two part-time paid positions to provide some consistency to the running of the organization. An executive director and a bookkeeper were hired, with the result being increased programming and sales. If the planned development proceeds, there will be increased need for even more paid positions to manage the operations.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
The mission of the Arts Alliance of the White Mountains states: “The Arts Alliance of the White Mountains promotes building and enriching a creative arts community through programs and activities that support the visual, performing, and media arts. We recognize that interest and support for the arts benefit a community culturally and economically.”

Our gallery belongs to, and is a part of, our community. As such, anyone is welcome to show their art here, whether they are an early beginner or a seasoned professional. We do our best to help people grow through attending our classes, reading their writings from the stage, participating in our events, or any way we can.

We coordinate with other groups in the area to promote their interests. The White Mountains Chapter of the Arizona Professional Writers hold their annual conference at our gallery. The Merry Mountain Market, a group of local crafters/ home-grown foods marketers, sell their wares weekly inside our building. The White Mountain Dance studio performs yearly, and the local “Little Big Band” plays songs from the Big Band era at least once a year. The Circle of Healing Arts meets monthly to explore alternate methods of healing the body and soul. Our goal is to provide a variety of talent to appeal to people of all interests.

Navajo County has been very generous to the Arts Alliance by allowing us to use their building for a minimal fee. In return, we give back to the community by hosting the monthly Chamber of Commerce luncheon, allowing other community groups, such as the Business Networking Group, to meet here. Our volunteers do a twice-yearly road cleanup. We are currently working on an area-wide map of all of the art galleries in the region so that visitors to the White Mountains can easily locate local creations.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
The members of our organization deserve a lot of credit. They support us with their dues, with their attendance at events, their donations, and their purchases. Local businesses sponsor the food and wine for our Cork and Canvas events, or they sometimes donate needed items such as ladders or Christmas trees. Word of mouth recommendations are the best form of advertising we can get. In 2025, the Arts Alliance was voted “Best Art Gallery in the White Mountains” in the local newspaper’s “Best of –” competition.

The people who deserve the most credit for the success and growth of the Arts Alliance are our volunteers. In 2025, they donated 4211.85 hours to promote, clean, organize, work during our events, and keep the gallery functioning. Many of them are artists who are showing their work here, but quite a few others are just community members who want to show their support for our mission.

Pricing:

• Our gallery provides unique and unusual one-of-a-kind items, with prices ranging from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aawmaz.com
• Email: aawm.instagram@gmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aawmcenterforthearts/

Image Credits
Artists’ work being shown:
Cathy McCue, Dottie Smith, Wayne Ledford, Sheila Vogler, Sandiego Kendall, and Karen Lewis.