Scottsdale Arts and Cattle Track Arts Compound are launching a creative partnership that includes a new career-development program for emerging artists (which includes a stipend), an artists-in-residence program, ane more, according to an annoucement released today.
The nonprofit Scottdale Arts will begin managing various elements of Cattle Track, located near McDonald Drive and Hayden Road, while the compound will retain its own board and property oversight through an existing nonprofit trust. Current studio artists, residents, architecture offices and The School of Architecture (formerly at Taliesin West), will all remain in place. Meanwhile, Scottsdale Arts will support increased programming, including musical performances, talks, and other events.
“As the caretaker of this place, it’s been my wish to ensure that Cattle Track continues to grow thoughtfully, artistically, and with integrity into the far future,” says Janie Ellis, who has managed the compound for decades. “That’s why this new partnership with Scottsdale Arts means so much. We mutually understand that Cattle Track isn’t just about studios or exhibitions. It’s about people. It’s about building a space where creativity can thrive across disciplines and generations.”
According to Ellis, Scottsdale Arts brings a structure and vision to match the spirit of Cattle Track, noting that the arts organization knows how to support working artists, and engage the community without disrupting it.
A master plan for the compound includes approximately 20,000 square feet of new art spaces to be constructed on the 11-acre campus. Among them is a historic barn, recently relocated from nearby Paradise Valley, to be repurposed for artist studios and gallery spaces.
The Barn will become the hub for ArtSpark, the career-development program for emerging artists. ArtSpark will provide recipients with a significant stipend, studio, or rehearsal space for a year and career development courses. Each cohort will give back through community projects and become mentors to the following cohort.
Submissions opened on July 28 for the first ArtSpark funding cycle, which begins Oct. 1 and runs through June 30, 2026. The application deadline is Sept. 15 at 11:59 p.m. MST.
The first ArtSpark cohort will be introduced during a special event, the ArtSpark Kickoff Barn-Raising, on Friday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. The event will include a tour of Cattle Track and a brief talk about the new programs.
In addition to ArtSpark, Scottsdale Arts will implement a new Artists-in-Residence program at Cattle Track, where established national and international visual and performing artists will complete residencies that range in length from one week to two months. Artists will share their creative prowess and process through talks and workshops, and works may be premiered and exhibited at Cattle Track or through one of Scottsdale Arts’ other departments.
Cattle Track’s Unique History
Cattle Track began in 1937 as George and Rachael Ellis’s 10-acre homestead. Cowboys were known for driving cattle along the nearby Arizona Canal, giving the area its nickname. In 1999, the compound was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The compound has historically been a place of free-spiritedness and multidisciplinary creativity, bringing together creative communities and inspiring generations of artists and thinkers. Revered Arizona artists like Curtis and Scholder made their homes at or near Cattle Track. Famous sculptor Louise Nevelson and future Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor were frequent Cattle Track visitors.
The Ellises themselves used the compound for their creativity. In addition to George’s building projects, Rachael designed costumes and worked in fabric art. Their son David Ellis crafted fiberglass racecar bodies there, including one that Mario Andretti drove to victory in 1969 at the Indy 500. And through the ensuing decades, Janie Ellis has kept that creative spirit alive through her indomitable leadership in managing the compound.
“A campus like Cattle Track, tucked away in the heart of our city, just doesn’t exist anywhere else,” Wuestemann said. “And there’s certainly no other Janie Ellis, with her incredible drive, never taking no for an answer and always looking toward what’s next. This historic campus is a unique treasure, and Janie’s perspective is particularly wonderful: that Cattle Track shall never become a monument to someone’s memory but rather a place respectful of the past, irreverent in its present and constantly evolving into the future.”
Scottsdale Arts
Scottsdale Arts operates Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale Public Art, Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation, Canal Convergence and Civic Center LIVE
For information, call 480.499.8587 or visit ScottsdaleArts.org.
