26 Blocks™ is an art project that celebrates downtown Phoenix, Arizona.

The exhibition was named as a double entendre combining city blocks and children’s alphabet building blocks.

“Unbelievable, a must see! This is just what we needed to highlight downtown Phoenix."
~ Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon

Extensive media coverage has included major features in The Arizona Republic, Phoenix New Times, Phoenix Magazine, College Times, ‘Valley Dish’ with Tram Mai, and dozens of articles and reviews on blogs, websites and other venues throughout cyberspace.

The buzz is emotional and inspiring.

Easily the most-used word to describe the 26 Blocks experience, from teenagers to seniors, is “Awesome!”

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Since its debut, “26 Blocks [has become] one of the most talked about art events in downtown Phoenix...ever!”
~ Betty Webb, New York Times best-selling murder-mystery author

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How was 26 Blocks realized?

26 of metropolitan Phoenix’s most talented writers were paired with 26 of the City’s most celebrated photographers. Each pair was randomly assigned to one of 26 downtown Phoenix city Blocks and asked to ‘Think Inside the Block’: Collaborate and create their interpretations of the most intriguing aspects of the history, present culture, and/or imagined future of their block. Though given freedom to shoot and write in any genre, photographers were to submit only one image with up to four pictures and writers’ maximum word count was 500.

Renowned Phoenix sculptor & painter Raphael Navarro added to the mix by creating 26 original 4” x 4” wood sculptures for each City block. The combined photographs, writings and sculptures premiered at After Hours Gallery on Friday, May 7th, 2010. It was the gallery’s most well attended show.

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"Hands down, 26 Blocks is one of the best exhibits I've seen in Phoenix...A sexy circus."
~ @lightrailblog

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Main Features:

• 26 HD images by 26 of the most celebrated photographers in Phoenix. Zoomable 400% without loss of quality.
• 26 stories by 26 of the most talented writers in Phoenix. A diverse array of genres: journalism, fiction, memoir, poetry, letters,
• 26 wood sculptures by renowned sculptor/painter Rafael Navarro
• Intuitive navigation, artistic attention to detail, multi-media richness
• Soundtrack featuring glitchy accessible electronica by Mr. Meeble and classical solo piano by the late composer, teacher and performer Charles Wells. Choose either, both, or none.

At a time when Arizona and Phoenix are in the national spotlight and our City is often portrayed as a hostile community facing boycotts from other cities and states, 26 Blocks promotes Phoenix in a highly positive way that encourages everyone, Phoenicians included, to look at our incredible home from very different perspectives.

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"...The art lover, the lover of the written word, the urban dweller, the suburban admirer of the urban environment and fans of a diverse and dynamic city such as Phoenix...This is a unique project that is well worth seeing ...make sure you see the 26 Blocks exhibit [in person] before it is gone."
~ Shuttermike.com

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Thanks beyond measure to the Phoenicians behind these organizations that made this iPad app of 26 Blocks possible: After Hours Creative, Phoenix Community Alliance, L.D. Schneider & Associates, Discovery Triangle, APS, HDR Architecture, Artisan Colour, CityScape, and Downtown Phoenix Partnership.

www.26blocks.com