Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas
December 11, 2018 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
With the appearance of the demonic Christmas character Krampus in contemporary Hollywood movies, television shows, advertisements, and greeting cards, medieval folklore has now been revisited in American culture. Krampus-related events and parades occur both in North America and Europe, and they are an ever-growing phenomenon. Though the Krampus figure has once again become iconic, not much can be found about its history and meaning, thus calling for a book like Al Ridenour’s The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas.

November 20, 2018 – January 6, 2019
During a Wee Winter Wonderland, The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures decorates its lobby and gallery spaces to celebrate the season. Additionally, more than a dozen miniatures from the permanent collection are decorated to depict holiday celebrations around the world and throughout time. Now in its 9th year, a Wee Winter Wonderland is becoming a Tucson holiday tradition.

September 29, 2018 – January 6, 2019
Encountering Death: Our Responses and Reconciliations represents the various attitudes people have had about death across time and place. This exhibition explores ways in which people have mourned the dead, contemplated the afterlife, and accepted or avoided mortality. Works in this show demonstrate how death has been symbolized, and how people have responded to death in their own lives. Curated by Grace Liatti, the Edward and Nancy Strauss Intern, this exhibition features works by artists such as: Thomas Cole, Käthe Kollwitz, Auguste Rodin, and Edward Okun.

30 Americans showcases works by some of the most significant African American artists of the last four decades. This ground-breaking exhibition explores race, gender, and historical identity in contemporary context while highlighting diverse media, subject matter, and perspectives. Artists included here represent the core of an expanding number of talented individuals who are contributing their voices to the history of art in this country. Many of the works on view reveal not only the country’s changing view of race and class over the last 200 years, but also address the persistence of racism, violence, and marginalization in America today.

Luminaria Nights Returns! Celebrate the holiday season with 3,000 candle-lit luminarias and 22 Korean lanterns as they adorn the Tucson Botanical Gardens. See snowfall in our Exhibit Garden next to a 10-foot tall Christmas tree made up of 150 blooming poinsettias*. Bring the kids for crafts, storytelling and photos with the Grinch! Performances will feature local musicians each night. Seasonal food and drinks will be available from our very own Cafe Botanica, as well as many of Tucson’s favorite food trucks.

Holiday Nights 2018
A Million Lights!
November 30 & December 1 | 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
December 7 & 8 | 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
December 14 & 15 | 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Santa’s Coming to Town!
Every Friday & Saturday of Holiday Nights
5:30 – 8pm | Lomaki House | Free with Admission
Get in the holiday spirit with a visit from Santa! Photo opportunities available and a fun event for kids of all ages!

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson (MOCA Tucson) is pleased to present Blessed Be: Mysticism, Spirituality, and the Occult in Contemporary Art, a curated exhibition by Ginger Shulick Porcella exploring religion, ritual, cult mentality, and the human impulse to belong and participate, as viewed through the lens of cultural production. This exhibition examines the relationship between “cult” and “culture” and how the museum space, like sites of worship, are places for sustained, concentrated attention and contemplation. Blessed Be links spiritual practice to artistic production, raising questions about the liminal spaces that exist between the sacred and the prosaic, celebrating these renowned contemporary artists and visionaries. The exhibition reveals the performance behind the ritual, and as such Blessed Be is an evolving exhibition, activated throughout the course of the show through a full series of lectures, screenings, and performances.

October 4, 2018 – January 27, 2019
This exhibit, from the collection of metalsmith Michael Croft, includes over forty miniature machines created by twenty-three contemporary automata makers from around the world.
Contemporary automata combine problem solving and mechanical ingenuity with imaginative storytelling, delighting both the eye and the mind. Most modern automatons do not use clockwork mechanisms, which were once a prominent tool for animating the pieces. Instead, many artists invite the viewer to participate in the work by winding up the crank, which builds the narrative, with the punchline revealed through its release.