This a teaser for an upcoming short film capturing a co-creative community arts project in the tri-national heart of the Sonoran Desert. Three communities worked with artists Christopher Lutter-Gardella and Jose Buck Sandoval on creating larger than life avatars that came together for a processional in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in March 2025. The communities of Ajo in Arizona U.S.A.; Pisinemo on the Tohono O'odham Nation; and Sonoyta in Sonora, Mexico each worked to create and animate their own unique puppet to represent community identity, values, and connectedness across the region. Special thanks to: Nathan Drillot for capturing this special moment in time on film; National Performance Network for supporting the project; and the Sonoran Arts Residency Program through the Sonoran Desert Inn & Conference Center.

The Curley School in Ajo, Arizona, originally built in 1919 was in danger of being demolished. Now, it’s model for historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and regional and economic development. See how the International Sonoran Desert Alliance transformed the building in an effort to reinvent this historic mining community. Producer/Editor - Andrew Brown Videographer - Sandra Westdahl

The Curley School in Ajo, Arizona; Barriers to Care; The Other Way; The Farrier

Ajo, Arizona, was once a robust mining community. Now it is seeking to cast off the image of a ghost town -- and reinvent itself as an arts destination of the Southwest. Stephanie Sy reports for our American Creators series and ongoing arts and culture coverage, Canvas. Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6 Follow us: Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/newshour Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour Subscribe: PBS NewsHour podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe

In an old mining town west of Tucson, an arts community is helping rebuild the local economy. The historic Curley School has been transformed into affordable housing — and artists are flocking to the Arizona desert to live there. READ MORE: http://kjzz.org/content/847706/untold-arizona-ajo-artists-colony-brings-century-old-curley-school-life UNTOLD ARIZONA: http://kjzz.org/content/601204/untold-arizona

A live-work space apartments for a community of artists. Situated in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, the quiet town of Ajo, and desert are at your doorstep at the Curley School. https://curleyschool.com/

Wanna get away? Looking for a quiet, beautiful place to push the world away for a while and focus on your art? Check out the Curley School, an artist live-work project in Ajo Arizona. a teeny, tiny town on the edge of the Sonoran Desert. Ajo is surrounded by BLM land, the Cabeza Prieta wildlife preserve and is just a few miles from Organ Pipe National Monument and Mexico. An informal art colony has developed in Ajo. This promotional video is a little dated, but there's more information here: www.curleyschool.com; and here: www.isdanet.org

Small town, LOTS of creativity. Puppets used as community art.

Curley School Project, Ajo, AZ- The pride and joy of a small mining town when it opened in 1919, the Curley School was forced to close its doors when hard times hit in the 1980s. Reclaiming the building was a risky proposition, but an array of public and private partners came together to reopen the School as the centerpiece of a community-wide revitalization effort.

Scenes from The International Day of Peace, an annual event held in Ajo Arizona by ISDA, the International Sonoran Desert Alliance.

Ajo artists, many from the Curley School, worked with ISDA program staff and local families to paint storefront windows in the Ajo Plaza.