Mary Stephens bridges artistic and aesthetic practices with political and social participation. Each of her projects aims to expand the political and artistic imagination, while activating political engagement.  You can find her work in three primary spaces in Arizona:

ASU Performance in the Borderlands
Phoenix Hostel & Cultural Center
Border/Arte
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LIVING ROOM SESSIONS
LIVING ROOM SESSIONS brings activist-artists to spaces around the city for informal artistic and creative showings, demonstrations, meet & greets, jam sessions, and performances. 
Cultural Strategy:  ​Ideas have consequences, and when art and political ideas are made accessible to a diverse public we can begin a cultural shift that is thoughtful and engaged.  
SPACES REIMAGINED
​Spaces Reimagined projects are large-scale, site-specfic performances and happenings that bring communities into urban and rural spaces.   These events encourage the public to reimagine a new inhabitable urban landscape through the creative process.  
Cultural Strategy:  Re-activating public spaces is key to re-envisioning how people live in the city, and that new vision helps build political power when people gather together in overlooked spaces to engage, meet each other, and participate.  
TEATRO INTIMO
TEATRO INTIMO is an improvisational theatrical and performance that addresses political themes surrounding the body, race, sexuality, and gender. Political dialogue and organizing happens during each show.  
Cultural Strategy:  Theatre and performance provide an intimate expression to witness and share stories.  Choosing intentional and intimate spaces for new narratives and community participation is key to cultural participation.  

BORDER/BLOG
BORDER BLOGS feature artists whose work addresses political and social themes, and who push the boundaries of artistic and aesthetic imagination.  
Cultural Strategy:  Highlighting new narratives and amplifying unheard voices creates new scripts for a more progressive Arizona landscape.  
BORDER/LABS
Community workshops and labs to build knowledge and share expertise in creating a cultural strategy.  
Cultural Strategy:  Power of knowledge sharing and co-creation to build capacity for socially engaged and political action within our communities.  


​Image:  Jenea Sanchez
 Borrando la Frontera, Agua Prieta