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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | FEBRUARY 16, 2020
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Creative Center pops up a birthday BY KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writer
When painter and poet Doria Dphrepaulezz moved to Scottsdale 10 years ago from Milan, Italy, she was in search of a creative space where she could write and paint. A year ago, she found that space in Old Town Scottsdale, at the Creative Center of Scottsdale, which celebrates its fourth anniversary this year. “It’s like having a private gallery and studio all in one,” she said. The Creative Center of Scottsdale, a 4,000-square-foot co-working space dedicated to artists, opened in the old Mandall’s Shooting Supplies building in 2016. To celebrate its anniversary, the center will host its 2nd Annual Pop-up Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The free event is located on-site and features the works of 10 artists, including tenants that currently call the center home as well as artists who are local to the Valley
but create elsewhere. “We’re excited to open our doors to the public, who will get to experience the incredible art of our tenants and community members,” said center owner Michelle Biely. “The fair is a celebration of the amazing work these artists create.” Currently, the center is almost at capacity with nine artists currently calling the co-working space home. One more space is available to rent. Dphrepaulezz rented a space at the studio because she liked being able to interact with other artists and the public, as well as showcase and sell her art. At the Pop-Up Art Fair, Dphrepaulezz will have her poetry books and a selection of her paintings, acrylics on paper, and canvas all available for sale. “My paintings are abstract poems of life in vivid color. An abstract painting tells a story, [and] part of that story is what the artist designs; but the story that survives time and generations is the story that the
client sees, tells, and feels,” Dphrepaulezz explained, adding that her paintings are an invitation into her world. Photographer Alynn Parde, an Old Town
fuel) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (pro stock) raced to victories at this event last year. Fans will see 11,000 horsepower nitro cars coursing through the track and the sophisticated pro stock class during the NHRA Arizona Nationals. They can also meet their NHRA stars, including the likes of John Force, Antron Brown and Erica Enders. Hagan was an all-around athlete at Auburn High School where he was a defensive lineman and all-district center on the Eagles football team. In the spring, he was the school’s catcher on the baseball team. He attended Radford University for four years and majored in recreation, parks and tourism.
Hagan has been racing for almost half his life. Starting on his family’s quads as a teenager in Virginia, he developed a passion for speed and the thrill of competition to move into circle-track, stock car racing. From there, he began bracket drag racing and later made a splash in Pro Mod, earning the 2006 Rookie of the Year honor in the NHRA AMS Pro Mod Challenge. Hagan and the MOPAR Express Lane/ Pennzoil/Sandvik Coromant Dodge Funny Car team, led by crew chief Dickie Venables and assistant Michael Knudsen, wasted no time putting together a competitive 2019 campaign. At the second event of the season, Hagan powered his Dodge Charger to victory and
Local painter and poet Doria Dphrepaulezz, a tenant at the Creative Center of Scottsdale for one year, will be one of 10 artists participating in this year’s Pop-up Art Fair taking place Feb. 22.
Michelle Biely is the owner of the Creative Center of Scottsdale, a co-working space that celebrates its fourth anniversary this year. (Kimberly Carrillo/Progress Staff Photographer)
(Kimberly Carrillo/Progress Staff Photographer)
resident since fall of last year, has been a tenant at the Creative Center for five months.
see CREATIVE page 41
Hagan looks to repeat at NHRA Nationals BY CHRISTINA FUCCO-KARASINSKY Progress Staff Writer
Matt Hagan has raced throughout the country, but the Valley is one of the few places he feels comfortable. “I love the Scottsdale area. I’d even consider getting a winter home there,” Hagan said. “I’ve got a lot of love for that. Everything has a good feel to it. I like the Native American feel. I’m a quarter Cherokee Indian. I love going in the airport and buying jewelry and different things like that.” He’s returning to the Valley Friday, Feb. 21, to Sunday, Feb. 23, for the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler. Hagan (funny car), Billy Torrence (top
took home a Wally trophy for the 30th time in his career. The win also marked 150 Funny Car victories for Don Schumacher Racing. In his free time, Hagan spends time with his wife, Rachel, with whom he has four children – Colby, Penny, Tucker and Nelly. He is an avid hunter and loves spending early mornings in a tree stand on his property hunting for deer and takes a couple trips each year out of state to hunt deer and ducks. If his bounty is too much for family and friends to consume, he shares the meat with groups helping the unemployed
see NHRA page 41
