15TH ANNUAL TUCSON MODERNISM WEEK 2026 OPENS NOVEMBER 3 WITH EXHIBITIONS, LECTURES, TOURS, VINTAGE TRAILERS AND MID-CENTURY MODERN HOME TOUR

The 15th Annual Tucson Modernism Week opens Tuesday, November 3, and continues through Sunday, November 8, with six days of exhibitions, lectures, films, architectural tours, special events and rare access to some of Tucson’s most significant examples of mid-century modern design.

Presented by the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, Tucson Modernism Week celebrates Southern Arizona’s distinctive legacy of modern architecture, art, craft and design while building public awareness and support for its preservation.

Programming begins Tuesday evening with the opening of Harwood Steiger: Fabrics of the West at the 1956 Bondante House, designed by Charles Clement. The exhibition brings together historic fabrics, garments, silkscreen materials and archival objects examining the work of one of the Southwest’s most distinctive mid-century textile designers. The exhibition is free and remains open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at 5111 E. Citrus Street.

A second free exhibition, Cabat-Gill Advertising Agency: Selling the Modern Southwest, is presented at Copenhagen Imports, 3660 E. Fort Lowell Road. Founded in Tucson in 1945 by Erni Cabat and Norval Gill, the influential agency helped shape the visual identity of postwar Arizona through advertising, illustration, photography, typography and graphic design.

Public programs continue throughout the week. On Wednesday, November 4, Glow of the Modern City – Tucson Neon explores the signs, businesses and designers that illuminated Tucson’s postwar landscape. On Thursday evening, William L. Bird, Jr. presents Erni Cabat – Can Creativity Be Taught? at Copenhagen Imports.

Friday, November 6, includes the opening of Clay in the Modern West: Studio Pottery from the Robert Leopardi Collection at the Arthur T. Brown-designed Ball-Paylore House, followed that evening by The Accidental Archivist: Preserving America’s Legacy of Modernist Houses with George Smart and a screening of the documentary Schindler Space Architect, followed by a conversation with director Valentina Ganeva.

Saturday, November 7, brings a full day of Modernism Week programming, including architectural and neighborhood tours, lectures examining Tucson’s modern architecture, art and cultural history, and the annual Vintage Trailer Show at the Historic Sunshine Mile.

Saturday evening, Tucson Modernism Week hosts its annual Cocktail Party at the 1961 Gerald S. Adelman House in the Catalina Foothills, designed by Tucson modernist architect Nicholas Sakellar, FAIA. The limited-capacity event offers guests a rare opportunity to experience one of Sakellar’s sophisticated residential designs while enjoying cocktails, live music and an evening devoted to architecture and preservation. Cocktail Party admission also includes early-entry admission to Sunday’s Home Tour.

This year marks the return of the Vintage Trailer Show Saturday and Sunday on the Historic Sunshine Mile, 2435 E. Broadway Boulevard, which will feature fab trailers from the mid-20th century.

Tucson Modernism Week concludes Sunday, November 8, with the 15th Annual Tucson Modernism Week Home Tour, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The self-guided tour provides rare interior access to six exceptional private residences spanning more than a decade of Tucson’s postwar architectural development.

Featured homes include the 1954 Wolf Residence by Paul Buehrer; 1958 Pinky Lee/Kivel House by Chesin Construction; 1961 Gerald S. Adelman House by Nicholas Sakellar, FAIA; 1962 Willis Burdick “Wingspan” House by Arthur T. Brown, FAIA; and the 1963 Lew Place House by Lew Place, AIA. Other stops included the University of Arizona Print Studio — expanding the tour beyond residential architecture to explore the connections among modern architecture, art, craft and graphic design. 

“This year’s program really demonstrates the extraordinary breadth of modernism in Southern Arizona,” said Demion Clinco, CEO of the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation. “Architecture is at the center of Tucson Modernism Week, but the story extends into art, textiles, pottery, graphic design, landscape and popular culture. Together, these programs show how Tucson developed a distinctly regional expression of modernism rooted in the climate, landscape and culture of the Sonoran Desert.”

“Tucson Modernism Week has become an important platform for recognizing the architects, designers and artists who shaped our city,” said Michael Fassett, Board President of the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation. “The exhibitions, lectures and tours bring that history to life while directly supporting the Foundation’s continuing work to document and preserve Tucson’s architectural heritage.”

Tickets remain available for select lectures, tours, the Cocktail Party, Vintage Trailer Show and Home Tour. Advance purchase is strongly encouraged for ticketed programs with limited capacity.

Full schedule, program information and tickets are available at TucsonMod.com.

Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation

The mission of the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, is to preserve the city’s unique architectural environment.  The non-profit organization advocates for the preservation of Tucson’s architectural resources and is working to preserve the Black Officers Club at Fort Huachuca, the Mid-Century Modern Architecture of Broadway, and other iconic Tucson landmarks. The organization is a vigilant advocate for historic preservation in Tucson and the surrounding area. View them online at www.preservetucson.org.