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April 2016
Feature Rain Crow Gallery Tucson by C.J. Shane |
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“When we decided to open Rain Crow Gallery, we knew there was no point unless we incorporated our core beliefs,” says Susan Alexander. She along with ceramics artist Carol Mullin are co-owners of Rain Crow located in Placita de la Luna on busy Grant Road in mid-town Tucson. As such, the gallery represents a trend now in the art world – an integration of the arts with a concern for community and the environment.
Those core beliefs that Alexander references involve community building through support for local artists, including artisans from Tucson’s refugee community. Rain Crow also includes Rain Crow Coffee Roasters, a project located in the gallery that provides on-the-spot fresh-roasted environmentally-friendly coffee.
Those core beliefs that Alexander references involve community building through support for local artists, including artisans from Tucson’s refugee community. Rain Crow also includes Rain Crow Coffee Roasters, a project located in the gallery that provides on-the-spot fresh-roasted environmentally-friendly coffee.
Susan Alexander
The gallery, which opened in late 2014, includes art works by some well-known local artists such as Jane Buckman, Eric Thompson, and Nadia Hlibka. Visitors to the gallery find a selection of paintings and mixed media work as well as ceramics and jewelry. The current major exhibit is the work of award-winning Robert Goldman who lived in Tucson for over twenty years and only recently moved to Prescott. Goldman is well-known for his beautiful landscapes of the American West that demonstrate the dramatic effects of light.
Artisans that are part of the Iskashitaa Refugee Network in Tucson also have a selection of handcrafted items for sale in the gallery. Rain Crow Gallery takes no commission on sales.
Artisans that are part of the Iskashitaa Refugee Network in Tucson also have a selection of handcrafted items for sale in the gallery. Rain Crow Gallery takes no commission on sales.
A trip to Rain Crow Art Gallery is a charming experience because it involves leaving behind the traffic and noise of the city. We enter through an arched doorway and pass through to a small and quiet patio in the Placita center. Entrance through the rear of the gallery takes visitors to rooms full of visual delights.
Rain Crow on Grant Road
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Rain Crow Gallery Entrance
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Rain Crow Gallery Interior
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Handcrafted items from Iskashitaa Refugee Network
The delicious scent of fresh-roasted coffee is part of the Rain Crow Art Gallery experience because Rain Crow Coffee Roasters is located in the back room of the gallery. Alexander refers to this coffee as “ethical coffee” because it is certified, shade-grown coffee that has far less environmental impact that the mass-produced agro-industrial coffee which requires tearing down acres of rain forest to produce coffee. The Rain Crow coffee growers are certified by environmental organizations included the Rainforest Alliance and Smithsonian Institute.
“We also make sure that the local growers are paid fairly for their coffee crop,” adds Alexander. Many of Rain Crow coffees were purchased by importers directly from growers with no middle men to reduce growers’ income. Rain Crow also works with Café Feminino, a group of women coffee producers.
“We also make sure that the local growers are paid fairly for their coffee crop,” adds Alexander. Many of Rain Crow coffees were purchased by importers directly from growers with no middle men to reduce growers’ income. Rain Crow also works with Café Feminino, a group of women coffee producers.
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Rain Crow Coffee Roasters teamed up in April this year with the Sonoran Joint Venture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Southern Sierra Research Station to raise funds for the conservation of the yellow-billed cuckoo.
The effort is to preserve the migratory routes of the yellow-billed cuckoo in Arizona. “Rain crow” is a popular common name for the yellow-billed cuckoo. |
Artist Robert Goldman
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Artist Maggie Smith
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Rain Crow Coffee Roasters will be involved with a similar fund raiser in May when The Loft Cinema shows the film “The Messenger.” Some of the funds raised will go to the Tucson Audubon Society as well as Arizona conservation organizations.
In the art gallery, Robert Goldman’s exhibit of paintings opened March 19 and is on display now. In April, the gallery will also feature the senior masterwork project of Maggie Alexander, a student at Tucson’s Green Country School.
Learn more about Rain Crow Art Gallery at http://www.raincrowgallery.com/
In the art gallery, Robert Goldman’s exhibit of paintings opened March 19 and is on display now. In April, the gallery will also feature the senior masterwork project of Maggie Alexander, a student at Tucson’s Green Country School.
Learn more about Rain Crow Art Gallery at http://www.raincrowgallery.com/
