The 8th Annual Tucson Modernism Week, 2019 (October 4-13) is kicking off with an array of community events including lectures, films, exhibits, tours, and stylish cocktail parties across the city celebrating Tucson’s unique mid-twentieth century heritage.

Presented by the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, Tucson Modernism Week celebrates mid-century architecture and design throughout the region with a robust program including the popular Modernist Home Tour and Vintage Trailer Show, opportunities to tour Tucson’s vintage neon signs, mid-century sacred spaces, downtown buildings and the design legacy of the University of Arizona. This year's exhibits will feature the forgotten furniture legacy of Tucson industrial designer Giorgio Belloli, resort wear dress of Tucson designer Dolores Gonzales, Abstract Expressionist paintings of Bob Brisley and the mid-century sculpture of Israel Levitan.

This year, Tucson Modernism Week partners with the American Institute of Architects Southern Arizona Chapter to present special walking tours and exhibits along the Sunshine Mile; with Film Fest Tucson to screen new films focused on modern architecture, and spotlights the UAMA exhibition ‘A New Unity: The Life and Afterlife of Bauhaus’ bringing multiple UA departments together to present a fascinating look at the Bauhaus school, which combined crafts and fine arts, having a direct influence on the 20th century artistic direction.

The Tucson Modernism Weeks lecture series brings national speakers and thought leaders to Tucson to present compelling topics including: “The Japanese Influence in American Postwar Design” presented by Rachel Leibowitz of the SUNY Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation, ”Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America” by Michigan State Historic Preservation Office’s Brian Conway, “Modernist Craft in Midcentury Southwest: Arizona Designer Craftsmen and the Allied Craftsmen of San Diego” with Dave Hampton, “Escape from Ugly Valley: A Conversation on Time and Taste” with Enrique Ramirez of the Pratt Institute and Exhibit Columbus, as well as lectures on the Bauhaus Movement including “Designing Women of the Bauhaus” by guest speaker Dr. Elizabeth Otto, of Buffalo University.

In addition to these events, the annual Modern Marketplace at Midtown Mercantile features furniture dealers and vintage collectors from around the region and the fabulous Modernist Cocktail Party, which takes place at sunset in one of Tucson’s private glamorous mid-century homes, raises funds to support the work of the Preservation Foundation.