March is about to get a lot more colorful in metro Phoenix. Art Detour returns Sunday, March 1, and runs through March 31, turning galleries, hotels, theaters and storefronts into pop-up exhibitions and stages for a monthlong arts blitz. The festival mixes free openings, ticketed performances and neighborhood activations across the Valley.
As outlined on Art Detour, Artlink’s official calendar lists the festival as a monthlong celebration that launches the 38th annual Art Detour. The site pulls together dozens of events, including museum shows, hotel installations, neighborhood art walks and performances, under one umbrella so you are not chasing five different calendars.
Most events are free, though some openings and big-ticket performances require an RSVP or paid admission, as reported by the Arizona Republic. Meredith G. White’s guide highlights key neighborhoods and clearly notes which shows carry separate costs or need reservations, so you can avoid guessing at the door.
Where to go
Roosevelt Row should be near the top of any list. The district’s First Friday gathering folds into Art Detour on Friday, March 6, with galleries, street art and pop-ups strung along the walkable arts corridor. The First Friday listing on Art Detour includes schedules and participating spots so you can map out a crawl instead of wandering at random.
Big shows and a Scottsdale tie-in
If you want a sit-down show instead of a sidewalk shuffle, the Phoenix Theatre Company is staging Come From Away during the festival run. Tickets and dates are available through Phoenix Theatre Company.
Scottsdale Art Week, presented by Scottsdale Ferrari, will overlap Art Detour, giving Scottsdale its own parallel art surge. Organizers say the fair drew roughly 100 galleries to WestWorld in its debut year, so expect that tie-in to feel more like a full-on art fair than a side event.
Gallery highlights to bookmark
Boutiques and hotel programs will be loud in March. Richau & Co.'s Love Arizona exhibition runs through the month in Scottsdale, while FOUND:RE Phoenix’s hotel gallery is showing ROYGBIV along with the group exhibition Where the Wild Things Stay. Artist listings for Love Arizona are posted on Richau & Co., and exhibition dates and tour details for the downtown shows are on FOUND:RE Contemporary.
How to plan a visit
Most Art Detour activities are walkable once you are in a given neighborhood, but events are scattered across the metro area, so you will want to build a route and allow time for transit or rideshare between clusters. Bring cash for smaller purchases, double-check gallery hours before you head out, and confirm which events require RSVPs or paid tickets through each venue’s listing.
“From day one it was never just about the art. It was about really appreciating artists and supporting them and keeping them in the community,” Catrina Kahler said in a 2024 interview. That sentiment, along with a full event guide that notes which shows are free and which require reservations, appears in a recent Arizona Republic piece, which also points readers to the official Art Detour calendar for the fine print.
