SRP organizing lost fine art from Southwest artists to display in gallery

PHOENIX — Salt River Project is working to organize, catalogue and display pieces of art that have been in storage or remote parts of the company.

With a remodel of its Tempe administration building, SRP is aiming to bring forgotten works from Southwest artists — some of Indigenous and Latino heritages — back to life.

Much of the artwork relays themes of power and water, according to a press release.

“We have some huge names in the art world right now, and we had the foresight to commission art from them when they were rising stars,” SRP senior community outreach representative Ileen Snoddy said in a statement.

“With such one-of-a-kind pieces, we realized we had to do something more with the collection.”

The plan is to develop an inventory of 142 pieces of art, have them appraised, curate an exhibit in the Heritage Center’s changing gallery and display the works for the public by 2024, according to the release.

SRP is getting help from Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West Executive Director James Burns and Arizona State University students to accomplish this goal.

“Under our guidance, the students examined the artwork, created reports on their condition, photographed them, researched the artists and found out where their art is on display or has been on exhibition in galleries throughout the world,” Snoddy said.

The artwork includes works such as “Three Ways to the Salt River” by Eric Orr, “Dream Cave of Time Regained” by Michelle Stuart and “Light and Spent Light” by Lisa Albuquerque.