Murals
As part of the Pollinator Pathway Project, a beautiful and educational mural was created at the Arivaca Dancehall in late summer 2023!
The 3-sided mural is surrounded by the dancehall's thriving Pollinator Pathway Garden, and features endangered and threatened species that are native to Arivaca and the Tohono O'odham Nation:
The Monarch butterfly (adult and pupal stages), along with other important native pollinators such as bees and hummingbirds;
The Lesser Long-nosed Bat and Ferruginous Cactus Pygmy Owl, in their natural habitat of Saguaro, Octotillo, Mesquite, and other desert plants.
The Tohono O'odham maze symbol and the word HA- NUKKUD (which means "to protect"), that represent the importance of the choices we make in our human journey as well as their effect on the shared future of our beautiful earth, and all that lives in it.
Tohono O'odham artist Paul 'Nox' Pablo designed the mural to wrap around 3 sides of the Arivaca Dancehall restroom building, and to depict the natural habitat of the Southern AZ region during the bright sun of afternoon, the glow of sunset, and a moonlit night. One of the unique features of the mural is that it is only able to be viewed in its entirety by “traveling” around the three sides of the building with a close view of the art, rather than viewing the mural as a whole from a distance. Because the building also has a relatively low profile, the mural is nestled into the surrounding landscape rather than towering over it, and immerses viewers in the art.
The main funding for the mural project came from ESA@50, a consortium of 36 non-governmental organizations that have sponsored community events and projects from coast-to-coast to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, passed by the US Congress in December 1973. Additional funding was provided by the Endangered Species Coalition and by the Arivaca Dancehall. Visit the ESA@50 article entitled "Unveiling the Arivaca Mural" at this link, and their arts and culture webpage for photos and stories about all the other amazing murals they have sponsored from New York City to Florida, Las Cruces NM to Portland OR, and more!
Photos of the Arivaca mural painting and the Mural Dedication & Celebration event have now been added to our google photo album and to the Arivaca Dancehall's Facebook page. The mural project was also filmed and photographed by longtime Arivaca Film Festival coordinator Bart Santello, and was part of the ESA@50 national celebration in Washington DC on Sept 13th.
A New Mural has just been created!
On Saturday and Sunday April 19th & 20th, Tohono O'odham artist Paul 'Nox' Pablo painted a new Nighttime Pollinators mural at the Arivaca Dancehall, featuring Yucca Moth and Mexican Long-nosed Bat pollinators, with Agave and Night-blooming Cereus. All these species migrate through the Arivaca area and the nearby Tohono O'odham Nation, and need us to conserve and protect their habitat. Thank you 'Nox' for such a beautiful and meaningful mural!
What else can be done to help endangered and threatened species?
There is a very long list of other wonderful animals, plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and insects that are endangered or threatened in our Southern AZ region: Jaguar, Ocelot, Pima Pineapple Cactus and Turk's Head Cactus, Painted Grasshopper, SW Willow Flycatcher, Chiricahua Leopard Frog, Horned Lizard, Mexican Wolf, Northern Mexican Gartersnake, and more. When people work together to conserve existing habitat and create new habitat for their benefit, there can someday be a celebration of recovery for all of these species, as well as those that live in other regions of North America and the world!