Phoenix: It’s not L.A.’s generic equivalent – Los Angeles Times

Call me an L.A. snob, but Phoenix has always struck me as a land of “a’s.” Establishments that sound natural with that article in front — a Quiznos, a Safeway, a Mobil station — grace every corner, amid sand-colored low-rise condos and the occasional empty lot. It’s all very functional, perfectly livable but hardly cutting-edge.

So I was skeptical when my cousins Hank and Tom described a flourishing alternative art scene around downtown Phoenix. The first Friday of each month, dozens of galleries band together for a giant art fair.

“All the freaks come out,” Tom told me. “And Phoenix is not a freak town.”

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