This August, we’re thrilled to welcome Alex Woz to Tucson for a special residency built around three opportunities to engage with his work and ideas. 

An Argentinian Jewish artist based in Los Angeles, Woz has quickly emerged as one of the most exciting young voices in contemporary Jewish art. Blending collage, photography, painting, archival imagery, and graphic design, his work draws inspiration from Jewish communities around the world, vintage Israeli design, and the visual language of 1970s album covers to create something entirely his own. The result is art that feels both rooted in Jewish history and vibrantly focused on the future. 

What excites me most about Alex’s work is that it asks big questions. His art explores identity, memory, belonging, resilience, and Jewish pride through images that invite curiosity and conversation. At a time when many Jewish communities are grappling with questions of visibility, representation, and connection, Alex’s work feels especially relevant. 

The residency begins with Planting Seeds, a pop-up exhibition in the Tucson J Fine Art Gallery featuring a selection of Alex’s prints. Drawing from archival materials, contemporary imagery, and Jewish visual culture from around the world, the exhibition offers visitors a chance to experience his distinctive artistic language up close. The exhibition will run from Monday, August 10 through Thursday, August 13, and will be open to the public during the J’s normal hours of operation. 

The centerpiece of the residency is a free community conversation on Wednesday, August 12th, facilitated by local Jewish artist, Amy Pozez. Together, Amy and Alex will discuss contemporary Jewish identity, artistic practice, and the role of art in shaping memory and cultural narrative. We’ll explore what it means to create art today, if that art is Jewish or just by Jewish artists, and why visual storytelling is such a powerful tool for building pride and connection. The conversation will be followed by a casual reception in the J’s fine art gallery, giving attendees an opportunity to continue the discussion while viewing the exhibition and meeting the artist. 

The residency culminates in a hands-on collage workshop on Thursday, August 13th, inspired by Alex’s own creative practice. Participants will be invited to create original artwork rooted in personal and family stories, using photographs, archival materials, and mixed-media techniques. Whether you come with a shoebox full of family photographs or simply a curiosity about your own story, the workshop offers a chance to reflect on memory, identity, and belonging while creating something uniquely your own. 

At its heart, this residency is not just about art, but about storytelling and identity. It’s about seeing ourselves reflected in Jewish culture in new ways, and about creating space for conversations that connect past, present, and future. 

I can’t wait to introduce Tucson to Alex and his work, and I hope you’ll join us for one, or all three, of these special events.