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Creative Center pops up a birthday

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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

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. (Kimberly Carrillo/Progress Staff Photographer)

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)

client sees, tells, and feels,” Dphrepaulezz explained, adding that her paintings are an invitation into her world.

Photographer Alynn Parde, an Old Town resident since fall of last year, has been a tenant at the Creative Center for five months.

seeCREATIVE 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 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 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

SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | FEBRUARY 16, 2020 around his Virginia home.

“I also farm a lot,” he said. “I have a 2,000- acre, 600-head cattle farm in Virginia. I enjoy it. It keeps me humble. I work, get my hands dirty and build some callouses. I live this rock star life—go, go, go—with adrenaline-driven fans, TV and sponsors. I come back home and turn all that off. I drive the tractor 5 miles an hour. It’s like yin and yang.”

He enjoys winning, but everything that comes with touring on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is exhausting.

“The travel wears on you—the hotel and all that kind of stuff,” he said.

“I was gone 180 days last year. I’m 37 years old and in the pinnacle of my sport. What other sport gives you an adrenaline rush at this age? Most people in other sports have retired at my age.

“The competition and the drive to win keeps me going. I was named Driver of the Decade by MotorTrend. I put myself around good people, so good things hapNHRA from page 40

pen. They don’t want to let me down. It’s pretty amazing.”

In his 11th year with Don Schumacher Racing, Hagan is inspired by his father, David, who owns Shelor Motor Mile new car dealerships and the Motor Mile Speedway short track and drag strip, as well Matt Hagan Outdoors locations in Radford, Virginia, and Blacksburg, Virginia.

The first Matt Hagan Outdoors store opened in December 2013 in Radford, near Hagan’s home in Christiansburg, Virginia, and success led to moving to a larger

location a year later and opening a second location in 2016.

“My dad owns 42 companies,” he said. “I own an outdoor store, a cattle farm, and a hemp farm. I race. I have four kids and he makes me look like a chump. I take lessons from him. He’s a great leader and really cares about people. I just sit back, watch, learn and listen.”

Matt Hagan will be driving his funny car next weekend in the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park right next door to Chandler on the Gila River Indian Community. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

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“I was attracted to the urban warehouse vibe. What [Biely] has created here is unique to the area. Most co-working spaces are designed for people with desk jobs,” Parde said, adding that “being surrounded by artists who are creating across genres is inspiring.”

At the Pop-Up Art Fair, Parde will be onsite making headshot images for both personal and professional use.

“I am fascinated by subtle expressions of experienced emotion and enjoy making images that reveal personality diversity,” he said. “In my workspace, I focus on headshot and portrait photography. After hours, I photograph story prompts and fuse visual inspiration with creative writing.”

Other artists participating in the fair are mixed medium painter Freddie Lieberman, nature photographer Ken Sklute, oil painter Paige Stone, illustrator Freed, and painter Saad Haddad.

Local artists who are interested in participating can still apply by submitting an application to artists@creativecenterscottsdale.com.

If selected, artists must pay a $25 fee, and they will have a 10-by-10-foot dedicated space on the center’s outdoor patio to display their work.

Biely said the Pop-Up Art Fair was a way to “try something new with [the] space.” “We opened the doors to artists and the public for the chance to come together and celebrate different mediums,” she said. “The turnout [last year] was modest but appreciated, and we are excited to see more new faces this year.” This year, Biely asked local businesses in the area to participate in the Art Fair as a way to expand the Creative Center’s community reach.

For example, Grimaldi’s Pizzeria located four blocks north of the center on Scottsdale Road will offer guests free mini cannolis during the fair.

“We hope to build connections with businesses around us and expand our community to our neighbors beyond our doors,” Biely said.

The Creative Center of Scottsdale offers shared workspaces, private offices, meeting areas, an outdoor event courtyard, and a second-story patio.

Shared workspaces include a 100-squarefoot space priced at $300 per month, while private workspaces start at $450 per month. Since its opening, the center has been home to creatives of all genres, including painters, photographers, and clothing designers.

“In four years, the center has helped build friendships and allowed other artists to work together and give each other confidence through a community they may have been lacking before,” Biely said. “We are excited and honored to hold another Pop-Up this year,” she added.

If you go The Creative Center of Scottsdale 2nd Annual Pop-up Art Fair When: Feb. 22, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Where: 3616 N. Scottsdale Road Tickets: Free Website: creativecenterscottsdale.com