EXPLORE THE CREATIVE CAMPUS
Live Where You Create. Create Where You Live.
Explore a campus built for makers, thinkers and collaborators. With shared workshops, a gallery, performance spaces, gardens and communal gathering rooms, the Curley Creative Campus offers more than an apartment — it’s a full ecosystem of amenities where you live, learn, exhibit and connect.
CLAY STUDIO
The former manual arts building now houses a well equipped wood shop and clay studio. The Clay Studio is open to the whole community free to see. Anyone interested is urged to contact the ISDA office at (520) 387-3570 for more information. Those using the studio purchase their own clay and pay a modest fee for the use of glazes and to have their work fired. The clay studio operates successfully on an honor system.
wood shop
The Wood Shop, managed by Rodney Hopkins, is also open to the whole community, however anyone wanting to use the shop must first take a workshop on safe operation of the power tools, agree to abide by shop rules, sign a waiver, and pay a small user fee. Call ISDA at (520) 387-3570 for contact information.
curley school library
The original library on the second floor of the main building is used as a resident and resident-sponsored meeting/gathering place.
commercial kitchen
The Sonoran Desert Conference Center has a full commercial kitchen outfitted with professional cooking equipment, supplies, and pantry staples. We partner with local caterers, restaurants, and home cooks to cater up to three meals a day for groups out of this kitchen. It can also be rented by Ajo residents and individual Conference Center guests interested in preparing food for events and farmers' markets; creating value-added food products; and hosting cooking workshops and demonstrations. Rental rates range from $8-20/hour. Please contact us at kitchen@sonorancc.com for more information and to schedule a tour!
sonoran desert INN & conference center
The Conference Center has four large multipurpose meeting rooms, a commercial catering kitchen, beautiful courtyard dining area, access to an adjacent indoor/outdoor performance venue and auditorium, clay studio, woodworking shop, gardens, and ample outdoor workspace. The Conference Center can accommodate groups from 10 to 250 for events, with space for up to 60 overnight guests.
the desert smells like rain garden
This unique garden located in the courtyard of the Sonoran Desert Inn and Conference Center within the greater Curley School Creative Campus invites you to slow down and breathe in the magic of the Sonoran Desert. Designed around native desert plants known to release fragrant, stress-reducing oils—especially after monsoon rains—the garden is a multi sensory experience rooted in science and tradition. It’s a space to reflect, restore, and reconnect with the rhythms of desert life.
the curley gallery
Located on the first floor of the historic Curley School building, this small gallery space offers rotating exhibitions and pop-up shows that highlight the work of resident artists and visiting creatives. Though not a full-time exhibition space, it serves as a flexible venue for sharing process, presenting finished work, and sparking conversation within the community. When the doors open for an exhibit, it’s a chance to experience Ajo’s creative pulse up close. The Curley Gallery is now open to artists who are current Curley residents, past Curley residents and community artists.
EXPLORE MORE OF THE CURLEY