Xico

Xico's mission is to promote and sustain Latino and Indigenous culture through art and to serve and advance Latino and Indigenous artists. Xico believes in the transformative power of art and that each artist at every level in their artistic journey has value, merit, and potential, including children. Xico aspires to use our platform to honor and preserve history through contemporary practices.

Founded in 1975, Xico serves the arts community by creating opportunities for artists to share their work while the community gains free public access to local artists, creating awareness of Latinx & Indigenous cultural identity through exhibitions and activities.

Xico understands the importance of an artist's voice and expression, being one of Arizona's oldest ethnic arts organizations committed to developing and promoting Latinx and Native American artists.

At its core, Xico believes in: the transformative power of art; the honoring and preservation of history through contemporary practices; the value, merit, and potential that every artist has at every level in their artistic journey; every child attaining access to the arts; and, the connection everyone deserves to maintain with their heritage. Through artist cultivation and promotion, youth arts education, and community arts and cultural partnerships, Xico continuously strives forward with these principles at heart.

Located in the heart of downtown Phoenix's arts & culture district, Xico serves an average of 250 artists and reaches over 50,000 community members annually through community-based arts programs and collaborations.

Xico provides opportunities to engage artists and community in various types of visual art mediums, primarily specializing in printmaking, one of the most significant means of artistic expression for Latino and Indigenous communities throughout history when the importance of printmaking became realized. It offered immense value to society as an art form that allowed images and text to be reproduced. Prints could be distributed to everyday people who couldn't necessarily afford one-of-a-kind oil paintings. Artists and youth have access to a fully equipped printmaking studio including lithography.

Typically located on college campuses, lithography requires specific resources to create works and educate artists on the technique. If students are not enrolled in college art courses, printmakers have no place to create lithographs unless they can afford the equipment themselves. Now that Xico has the equipment and space, artists have a public studio available to them to continue this historically significant art form. In addition, Xico is able to expose artists to printmaking exchanges with other countries around the world.

Xico's working studio - Weekly Printmaking workshops provide an opportunity for artists to experiment with new methods while learning from Master printmakers, who are eager to teach. Our in-house presses allow artists to familiarize themselves with the equipment, tools, and medium to enhance their skills and produce quality art. The Printmaking studio offers classes and workshops in Monoprint, Monosilk, Intaglio, Relief, and Lithography for all skill levels - beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

Xico's working studio includes a maker space composed of a laser cutter and 3-D printer, which enhances the printmaking process by combining traditional techniques with newer technology. This studio addition also allows the opportunity for traditional method artists to collaborate with modern, technologically literate creators and engage in a new dialogue, keeping Xico current with the always-evolving art scene.

Exhibitions - Xico presents 12 onsite exhibitions promoting local, national, and international artists and 12 pop-up interactive exhibitions at the Roosevelt Row Hot Box Shipping Containers during the monthly First & Third Friday Art Walk.

Open Studio provides opportunities for artists to work independently and create commissioned art in a familiar, community-driven space.

Professional development workshops present artists with opportunities to gain business and marketing knowledge from professionals in the community.

Underserved youth activities include free workshops and classes in the community via Say Yes to the Press (SYP) Mobile Art Program to reach a new generational audience throughout Arizona. SYP shares printmaking and other art forms with underserved youth and families in Title I schools, community centers, and events. We also offer an array of workshops at the studio for tweens and teens including intro to printmaking and muralism.

Community Engagement - Through collaborative partnerships, Xico promotes arte y cultura to the community. Our partnership with Roosevelt Row and Cahokia facilitates a space for seasonal Indigenous mural installations...