ALL ONE STORY:

ALWUN HOUSE 35 YEAR LEGACY

Think back 35 years – and Downtown Phoenix. That’s when Alwun House was founded on the belief of the power for art to transform, strengthen and beautify our community’s future. Alwun House pioneered “urban revival chic.” Nurturing and showcasing artists with integrity and authenticity from 1971 into the new millennium. Over three decades, Alwun’s Downtown Phoenix landmark arts center has provided thousands of emerging and established artists a springboard for exploration and refinement of their work in “all one” place.

Alwun’s legacy celebrates cultural diversity beyond “contemporary”: from Latin, Native and African American, Aboriginal, folk art to avant garde, visual and performance arts - all on a shoestring budget. For nearly 100 years the Alwun House has been many things to many people. In 1971 the illustrious Kim Moody and volunteers transformed the 1912 Sedler homestead into an award winning gallery and gardens. When designated an Arizona State Historic Property in 1993, Terry Goddard congratulated the Foundation’s purchase of its historic facility as a feat “so improbable, unlikely, and incredible. An extraordinary accomplishment. An excellent example of community building.”

“Alwun House has stood as a backdrop in the evolution and maturation of our arts community, and for many artists the springboard for greater public awareness and acceptance. We appreciate the firsts that Alwun House made possible and to the furtherance of the “arts community” movement.”

Sheila O’Keefe, entrepreneurial grant writer

HOME OF SO MANY “FIRSTS”!

“Arizona’s first contemporary arts center.”  Scott Seckel, Arizona Republic, March 4, 1992

Downtown’s first art gallery

Downtown’s first independent non-profit artspace and arts organization.

Staged Valley’s first multimedia theatre production.

The Valley’s first coffeehouse (pre-Starbucks).

First to showcase Performance Art on their stage.

First and only to stage multi-cultural festivals on downtown parking structure rooftops: 5 to 10,000 revelers actually “got the concrete heart of the city to beat!”

Naïve art by Phoenix elementary school children and neighborhood youth given annual showcase.

First arts organization recognized for community building and revitalization through the arts.

JUICEY GEMS

"Keep up your good work.  Everyone interested in art endorses you."

The late honorable Senator Barry Goldwater, 1984

“The current arts community can easily be traced to 1971 when Alwun House was first established”

Kimber Lanning, 2004 (Richard Florida’s Orpheum Community Discussion)

"One of the things that make Alwun House so valuable is the diversity of its programming.  It is also what makes the place so difficult to define."  E.J. Montini, Arizona Republic

"A Pioneer in the rebirth of cultural and artistic activity in Central Phoenix, Alwun House is an important component of downtown revitalization."  Terry Goddard, 1993 (at ceremony Alwun House received State Historic designation)

“The House That Art Built: Few organizations offering artistic delights are consistently surprising, and of consistent quality, as Alwun House.”  Matthew Heil, Echo Magazine, 8/03

"This is Alwun House - Arizona's first contemporary arts center and a pressure valve for creative Valley folk."  Scott Seckel, Arizona Republic, March 4, 1992

"...Alwun House has become a unique neighborhood oasis, with a welcoming intimacy in which multicultural art exhibits, youth activities, and block-watch meetings can converge."   Beverly Harvey, Phoenix Downtown

"Celebrating the state's cultural diversity, it has been recognized as an urban arts pioneer constantly pushing the envelope."   Dave Shave, Echo Magazine

"When the definitive cultural history of the city of Phoenix is written, Alwun House will have to be given a special and loving place in that narrative."    Donald Locke, Art Critic, Arizona Living Magazine 10/87

“Alwun House celebrates two decades as the Valley’s epicenter of alternative culture.”   New Times, 12/90

 “Upon entering Alwun House a visitor immediately senses that some calming influences are at work – it’s the poetry of ambiance, and the ambiance of poetry. The fact that Alwun has not only survived but prospered in its (downtown) location signals that the facility is needed and wanted, and has a place in Phoenix and the hearts of those who care about the arts in the Valley.”   Kelly Walton, Scottsdale Progress, 1981

"I’m glad to encourage the support of the worthwhile and valuable contribution Alwun House makes to enriching our Valley’s cultural climate.”   Sam Campana, Arizonans for Cultural Development, Executive Director, 1986

“The Alwun House will remain in the heart of Garfield as a place residents gather to meet, celebrate, and nurture youth and the arts.”    Weed and Seed national, In-Sites Magazine, 6/95

“Alwun House - the eastside anchor to downtown’s emerging cultural explosion.”   Art in America, 9/04

SELECT AWARDS

City of Phoenix Environmental Quality Commission, 1972 & 1973

New Times, Best of Phoenix, 1990, Best Dance Club

New Times, Best of Phoenix, 1990, Best Underground Scene

New Times, Best of Phoenix, 1992, Best Alternative Art Space

Phoenix Magazine, 1998, Most Interesting Places Award

Every Day Hero Award for “making community a better, stronger, and safer place.” U.S. Department of Justice “Weed and Seed,” 2000

City of Phoenix, CDBG Lupe Sisneros Memorial Award, 2003 “For guiding and overseeing revitalization strategies in Garfield Neighborhood.”

As a 5^th generation Arizonan, Kim’s pioneering heritage nurtured persistence – which he applies to his passion for the arts and community building; founding Alwun House in 1971, in the Garfield neighborhood he and his mother were born and raised in.

The following selections from endorsement letters, highlight Mr. Moody’s Alwun House and Garfield Neighborhood accomplishments:

“Kim’s involvement with the neighborhood when it was a city gang problem and uniting the residents of the area to form the Garfield Neighborhood Association and take back its neighborhood is heroic by any standard.”  

Congressional Representative, Ed Pastor

“Kim’s inclusive vision for Alwun House is diverse. Because of Kim’s lifelong dedication, he is not just an asset to the arts community; he is an asset to the entire community. We have known of and support Kim’s efforts in the arts community through the years. His efforts have changed the lives of many of our constituents. Their children have learned the value of art because Kim was willing to put an art studio in the middle of the Garfield Neighborhood. Many are they who have been inspired by Kim to pursue their creativity.”

Senator Bill Brotherton, Dist 14

Senator Ken Cheuvront, Dist 15

Representative Debbie McCune Davis, Dist 14

 Representative Robert Meza, Dist 14

Representative Ken Clark, Dist 15

Representative Wally Straughn, Dist 15

“Mr. Moody has demonstrated great personal courage, creativity and commitment in developing programs to serve the local artist community and his neighbors in Garfield Neighborhood.”

Phil Jones, Executive Director of Phoenix Art and Culture

“Alwun House has grown into an established Phoenix cultural institution. Mr. Moody is a pioneer in the downtown Phoenix arts movement and a key partner in revitalization of the Garfield Neighborhood”

Tammy Perkins, Phoenix Neighborhood Services Director

“Kim, an Arizona native, in founding Alwun House, has created a heart and soul for the arts community in Phoenix. Kim Moody is the backbone of the arts community in Phoenix. The Alwun House is the genesis of all the current alternative art spaces in Phoenix. Kim and Alwun House provide the glue for a strong, united community of artists in Phoenix.”

Annie Lopez and Jeff Falk, Artists and founding members of MARS Artspace

“In a town that has a serious shortage of fine progressive art, Alwun House showcases young talent, alive and vibrant. Alwun House includes every ethnic culture in their presentations. There is no finer example of blending of cultures in the Sate of Arizona. I’ve always considered Kim Moody and Alwun House as a major cultural asset to our community.”

Hans Olson, homegrown International Musician

“Alwun House efforts to bring a community-based arts program to the inner city have literally changed the character of Phoenix.”

Dr. Carl Hammerschlag, International author and community healing lecturer

“Alwun House is locally and nationally renowned as an institution dedicated to providing local and national artists opportunities to display their work, and receive feedback, criticism and encouragement. In a neighborhood where children often have little access to activities that widen their horizons, Alwun House serves as a beacon.”

Helen Trujillo, President, and Steve Swanson, Vice President of Garfield Organization

“I have known Kim since the late 70’s, and have watched with admiration and awe how he has nourished his dream into a reality that truly embraces diversity and community through the arts.”

Carol S. Kestler, community artist and consultant, Tucson

“Alwun House has promoted arts programs among youth and adults for more than 3 decades. The annual exhibit of art by elementary school youth has grown and is always impressive. Adult exhibits, always on the cutting edge, provide opportunity for the more provocative artists to exhibit, many of whom would not have an opportunity to show elsewhere.”

Dr. Eugene Grigsby, Jr.,

Chair Emeritus COBA, a Smithsonian and Internationally recognized artist

COMMUNITY BUILDING THROUGH THE ARTS

Alwun House received the City of Phoenix 2003 Lupe Sisneros Memorial Award for its vision and commitment to community building through the arts, and for its efforts in overseeing the restoration and “adaptive reuse” of Alwun’s landmark 1912, 2-story bungalow, creating a neighborhood friendly cultural resource and gathering place.

During her latter years, Lupe “Barrio Nana” Sisneros loved attending events in the gardens, stating: “Alwun House is an important cultural and intellectual resource in our neighborhood, which we cannot afford to lose.”

A Bloom in the Desert “The traditional and avant-garde exist side by side in this young vibrant metropolis. The 1971 non-profit Alwun House is devoted to the avant-garde. The buildings history dates back to 1912. New art, new thought, presented in an unhurried atmosphere of a by-gone era when Alwun House was originally built.”   USArts; Discovering America Guide