Mesa Arts Center

Clean well managed place for large events, plenty of views from all seating areas. Great sound system and friendly staff. Bathrooms were very clean. My o my gripe is the parking isn’t amazing here. Parking ramp is a little tight and not super well marked.

I spent a good while selecting seats that had the best view I was looking for. Their website helps a lot since it warns you if you select a seat with an obstructed view, so be sure to take that seriously! There are a few areas off to the sides (on all levels?) that block your view of half the stage. Just FYI! We enjoyed our evening and all of the staff we encountered were very friendly and helpful. A small bottle of water was $4 but there was also a water fountain handy so I can't complain. A can of beer was $11, but I couldn't find a beer fountain.

A true gem in the heart of Mesa! The Mesa Arts Center is a stunning blend of architecture, creativity, and culture. From captivating performances to inspiring art exhibitions, every visit feels like a new experience. The atmosphere is vibrant yet welcoming, with beautifully designed spaces that enhance the artistic journey. Whether you're attending a show, exploring the galleries, or taking a class, this place is a must-visit for any art lover!

I recently had my graduation at the Mesa Arts Center and it was absolutely beautiful and amazing. The entire space is stunning from every angle. In my opinion, there are no bad seats in the entire venue. The layout, design, and atmosphere made the event feel so special. The building itself is also impressive and adds an elegant touch to any occasion. I could not have imagined a more perfect place to celebrate such an important milestone.

Great place for for medium sized concert. Seats and seating is optimal with great acoustics. Parking leaves a lot to be desired in that small area

Wonderful center! Called the box office for our tickets & was given recommendations that best fit our large party size when most other seats were sold out. Everything was clean & everyone was helpful

Enjoyed the 2025 spring opening collection. Absolutely beautiful! There are stairs and an elevator. We also got to make Valentine's cards. What a fun activity!

Great location and venue. Saw The Great Gatsby Ballet and it was phenomenal! Ushers and staff very courteous and helpful! Seats are wide and very comfortable! Parking was free! I'll be back again for another show! Thank you!

The Mesa arts Center is located in the heart of downtown Mesa. The Museum currently has a glass exhibit entitled American Glass Now: 2025. This exhibition showcases the many different uses of glass. The glass techniques include stained glass, fused, and kiln formed glass, and etched and painted glass. The show concludes August 3, 2025. Check it out if you're interested in glassware. Free street in lot parking. Wi-Fi in the Center and museum.

I haven't reviewed MAC? That's surprising because we are literally here every other weekend to walk around! This is a beautiful, open air space for various community events. We've attended shows here -- all fantastic! There is plenty of parking in the garage and free parking in the streets across. We've attended festivals here and farmer's markets when it was just starting out - so much community and very welcoming. But my most favorite, it their free art museum! They have a great rotating schedule and beautiful art from local artists. I absolutely recommend stopping by, even to just walk around. There are plenty of areas for great photo opportunities as well!

The first time that I visited the Mesa Arts Center was when I was a photography student at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. I was doing a photo project on complementary colors and someone suggested I shoot some photos here. Since discovering this place, I have attended many of their opening receptions. I recently moved to Mesa and have been coming here more often for various events. There are a lot of great restaurants on Main Street that make visiting the Mesa Arts Center a fun-filled evening out. Mesa Arts Center is a performing and visual arts complex that resides in the heart of Downtown Mesa. There is a Valley Metro light rail stop in front of it on Main Street. It has four performance venues and is one of the largest art campuses in the state. I love the architecture and design of this complex. The performance venues host anything from concerts to theater to speaking engagements. I have seen a couple of concerts, a play and watched a ski flick here in the past. The annual Day of the Dead festival is free and always a fun time during the Fall season. Mesa Arts Center offers art classes and has a small gift shop. My favorite time to come here is during their Fall, Spring and Summer opening receptions when they feature new exhibitions from different artists. These are free to attend and always draws a great crowd.

The Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum a few times a year when they have new exhibits. I really wanted to see the current exhibit before it gets changed out in May, so we stopped by on our way home and went in for just a little while. I specifically wanted to see the John Randolph Nelson sculpture, and I'm so glad I got a chance to see it. This is a small museum, but it always has great exhibits. I highly recommend it, and it's free!

Love coming here but for this particular visit was for my daughter's graduation. I've never been inside the auditorium part and it was a lot bigger than I imagined. It was spacious and the staff and security were very kind. No complaints here.

I was supposed to go to a buddy's gig tonight but because there was indoor smoking, we decided best that I skip. So, I was looking for something casual to do tonight and saw that the Mesa Contempary Arts Museum on the grounds of the Mesa Arts Center was having their 2025 Spring Opening Reception tonight. Opening Receptions happen quarterly here so it was a nice treat to check this place out. Normally, there are limited hours here, but tonight the museum was open until 10pm. The museum store also open to 10pm. There is a parking lot and a garage too. I parked on a street not too far away, was nice to walk over. The reception starts at 7pm and there was a good line started to get inside! At 7pm, they let you in and then you proceed downstairs. It's an interesting building where artwork is one floor down. They had some nice light bites here to nibble on, a DJ spinning music, and cash bar available. Only gripe here is that they won't allow you to take your adult beverage around as you explore the art, bummer. Great to see some of the art here and I absolutely loved the artwork by Joseph Sivilli (Posthistoric Evolution) and Martin Dmitrov (Nocturnal Garden). It was a fun way to spend the night, get a little culture and catch up with a likeminded friend.

I attend and enjoy the Fall Arts Season Kickoff event almost every year and went to the Alt Fest this past weekend. Mesa Arts Center does a great job of creating family-friendly, free, creative events for the community. M.A.C. is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year. I credit it with being one of the bigger reasons Mesa has a growing downtown nightlife area and why ASU built their film school nearby. As a photographer, I appreciate that it is an architecturally interesting facility with great places to take posed photos.

Unexpected stop to Mesa Arts Center with the Mercuria Ohana race weekend. The first night most of us got in for our race weekend. One of the story tellers for MOB performance group goes around the country was staying at the same hotel. Some of the group thinking about checking out the show. Most part people arrived decided check out the show welcome group dinner. Not really theater person in general but enjoy it if go to one. Diversity in life. Mesa Arts Center definitely really nice venue!! I love compare times done theater in Vegas on much bigger scale. Smaller but feel so much closer to the performers, and very much feel the vibe at the show. The place modern, clean, great sound system, and nice options drinks/food intermission or before show starts. The staff five stars everyone meet ushers, ticket booth, and people working the door. It located right on the Main Street in downtown Mesa. I feel in love with Mesa is everything food scene and culture all same road. Easy access comes to parking or rail system take to Mesa. If into theater in Mesa area check out performing cause changes all the time. Worth it!!!

OUTSTANDING venue. Just returned from a phenomenal show, featuring the great virtuoso, Itzhak Perlman at the Ikeda Theater (in the Mesa Arts Center). Excellent acoustics, comfy seats with a lot of legroom. Mesa Arts Center has several auditoriums.

Enjoyed a fabulous performance last night. It's a perfect venue. Lighting, sound and seating are perfect.

I've been here twice now and enjoyed both experiences. Once for Penn & Teller, the other time it was Dear Evan Hansen. A large theater and even with these inexpensive tickets, I could see the show alright. A few parking lots relatively close by. Friendly staff. No complaints.

Been here a couple of times to watch some amazing performances, coincidentally all of them had been in the Ikeda theater. Parking is easy to find and navigate through for this venue. However, the parking garage was slightly confusing on our last visit because it had said it was closed at the time of our arrival, but we had VIP tickets to an event that told us to arrive about 3 hours ahead of show time, so we got slightly lost on where to park instead. Every time I'd been here, getting through security and checking in has always been seamless. No issues whatsoever. Lines are also not so bad here regarding the merch stand, concession stand and the restrooms. Additionally, staff have been very friendly and great at directing everyone in a respectful and timely manner. Now for Ikeda theater specifically: The theater itself feels very welcoming with neutral wood tones and warm lighting. The inside of the theater is quite spacious, with an ample amount of seating. Haven't had a bad view or seat yet so far. The seats themselves are comfortable enough and seem to be well maintained.

Easy parking in lot next to theatre, clean venue. Staff on hand to direct one to proper door for the show or restrooms. Comfy seats. Had a positive experience.

Came to Ikeda Theatre Great venue Many seating options - three levels Significant leg room Attentive staff Many refreshments Close parking

My wife and I are frequent visitors to the Mesa Arts Center and enjoy the myriads of events, showings, activities, performances and much, much more this incredible institution has to offer. Their offerings encompass such a vast array of arts and culture, it's not possible to elaborate in a short review - it's simply a fantastic venue! From cultural art, arts and crafts, visual arts, Day of the Dead exhibits, and whether your interests are one or the other, you're going to enjoy a visit, or a few visits to this extraordinary interactive and personable museum. Congrats and Kudos to all involved - a terrific management and staff. And let us not forget thoughtful donors and continual patrons!

Went here for a theatre show event and was seated in the balcony. Overall nice experience with an easily accessible lobby and auditoriums. Nearby restrooms and plenty of parking outside. My only complaint is the food options here. Just packaged chips and snacks available and no hot food. No draft beers as well.

Nice venue at Mesa Arts Center. Second concert I have seen here. Tonight it was Diana Krall, and an excellent concert. The parking here is relatively easy and lots of restaurants in downtown Mesa. The acoustics are excellent, the staff are helpful and the seating was comfortable. Had seats toward the back of the first level, Section V, several rows behind the control booth. There are several balconies above the main level. Concert was sold out. Great vocals and an excellent band. Her vocals has been described as "contralto" or a lower range. She has been performing since 1993 and excellent on the piano.

The Bad...and really disappointing.:$80/seat to look at the back of a guys head. On top of it, no arm rest. Just kind of a chair that belonged at a dinner table. The acoustics: For some reason, way too loud. My wife, who never complains (about concerts) said it just turned into loud noise. 5th time seeing Chris Botti; this was a first. The Good: I asked a gentleman that worked there if we could purchase a better seat. He instantly offered us a better (same priced) seat that was much better. Very grateful as we would have just left had he not been gracious enough to take care of the issue.

To the usher who shut down our filming of my son's valedictorian speech at our private graduation event tonight, thank you. My bad when the iPhone light came on. You have solidified my determination to live another 25 years to try this again with my hoped for grandchild. So sorry, I won't make the same mistake again.

I went there with my wife last night for the Rush tribute project. We arrived at 720 and searched for parking cow found the parking structure which was small and cramped. I drove around to try to find a handicapped spot and none to be found. Thee was ample parking on the second and top floors, but there was NO ELEVATOR!!!! My wife had limited mobility due to a series of recent surgeries and obviously the stairs were NOT AN OPTION. The parking attendant suggested leaving my wife,in a wheelchair and vulnerable, some where at ground level while I parked the car, this was not an option. To all future attendees to this handicapped unfriendly venue don't go! I am amazed that a building as large as this is not ADA COMPLIANT We left the venue and went how with unused tickets. A waste of over $120. Oh well live and never return.

I visited the Mesa arts for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra tour. The description of the event was as below: Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra embark on a North American tour -- the Orchestra's 63rd international tour -- and additional U.S. appearances in 2023 as part of its 2022/23 Season. The program includes the following musical pieces: Beethoven - Coriolan Overture Beethoven - Symphony No. 8 Liadov - The Enchanted Lake Mussorgsky (Orch. Ravel) - Pictures from an Exhibition They had parking across the street at what I thought was a church for about ten dollars. They also had parking at the venue but it was super crowded. They had quite a few restrooms in the building which was nice. Much better than Gammage. You can enter the building without showing your ticket. At the entrance of the theater past the lobby is where we showed our tickets. There were lots of ushers showing people to their seats and greeting people. The chairs were comfortable. There were wire drink holders attached to the seat in front of you where you could put your drink. They were also conservative on the programs asking people and groups to share. This helps with sustainability. There were lots of stands with disposable face masks and hand sanitizer pumps in the lobby which was nice. They also had a couple of concession areas. One was a drink bar out in the lobby. The other was a food concession stand connected to the building itself.

We went here for our family outing to start spring break with the kids! We found out they were having the Adam's Family musical/play! I called an hour before the show started in hopes there was still seats available!! and the women explains to me there was still a free seats, she was so helpful with deciding what seats to get and she was so awesome with explaining everything , like she was gonna send an email with the tickets or we can pick him up at Roll Call! And the other shows we may enjoy in the future!! The Adam's family was great! They have a wonderful cast, so interactive and just a fun show to watch! We are going to be going to more shows now that we know what to expect!! Super fun, worth the money and a must try if your looking for a fun day or evening out!

I always have such great experiences at the Mesa Arts Center. I have been to body building events, concerts like Mateo Bochelli and holiday shows like The Nutcracker. All were fabulous. The volunteers are always very capable and friendly.

Wonderful venue! My husband and I had a date night last night and saw Diana Krall in concert! Great place to see a concert! Comfortable seats with plenty of room. Acoustics were on point and the interior design is gorgeous! Can't wait to see another show there! Oh yeah, nice wine selection too! Anyone who serves Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc is OK with me!

Love MAC!! Acoustics are good enough for me and there isnt a bad seat in the house! We always enjoy any event we go to here and visit several times a year. There has been a recent security upgrade so there are walk through detectors, bag checks, and a clear bag policy.

This had NOTHING to do with security but with poor conduct of staff. Original Post: I received a message from Mesa Arts Center instructing me to be there between 6 & 6:30 pm to exchange my tickets for a 7:30 pm performance of Chad Lawson. It is a 45 minute drive, so we altered our plans & left 2 hours early to be safe. It was all down hill from there. After being told they open at 6:30 pm, I'm then told I did not have to exchange anything. 6 different people later, I finally got a refund & will not return. I was made to feel at fault, judged by a group of workers & very uncomfortable. We could hardly wait to leave. No consideration, no respect. Your recent reply is out of line & off point.

We had tickets to a show and I had a wheelchair. The parking garage had NO handicap parking plus there was no elevator, making it non-ADA compliant. When we asked the parking attendant what to do she said for my husband to drop me off somewhere, park and then take me in. The Center is not in the safest area so we didn't choose that option and left very disappointed . We will never attend an event there ever again!

Great place for concerts and shows. Was a little warm in the balcony during our last visit to see Phil Rosenthal but manageable. Exiting the parking structure wasn't the best experience since we were on the Roof.

The website is terrible for purchasing tickets. Getting so frustrated that I'm just not even going to purchase tickets.

The Mesa Arts Center itself was fine. No problem with parking or seating. The Shen Yun show is over hyped IMHOP. Yes, the costumes are colorful and there are a lot of costume changes. However, the dance numbers are, by and large, the same over and over even though the costuming changes.

We had a great time at the Mesa Arts Center celebrating our heritage and departed loved ones during their Dia De Los Muertos celebration. So many amazing vendors selling beautiful works of art, homemade crafts and jewelry etc... There were so many Food Trucks too and a wonderful turn out by the public! The Mesa Arts Center did a great job, we love going to their events and so many of them are free to enter.

1/13/22 My review might not be fair, as this is not my preference of art. Quality/Quantity - Please see the artists and judge for yourself. They rotate various art exhibits. Atmosphere - Street paid parking. Beautiful space and building. Even bought from the gift store, An Artists Co Op, which was next door. We walked by the Ikeda Theater, Repertory Theater, Studio Theater, Playhouse, gardens, Amphitheater, etc... See picture of the directory. Clean bathrooms. Service - Good, self service after being greeted Price - Free Owner Suggestion - Thanks for the free museum, it encourages people to be more artistic and appreciate contemporary art. Cut and pasted from their website: "Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum is a visual arts exhibition space committed to the presentation, interpretation, collection, documentation and preservation of contemporary visual arts with a special focus on traditional media. Dedicated to presenting exceptional regional, national and international exhibitions, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum provides support and advancement to artists world-wide through solo, group and juried exhibitions while promoting educational opportunities within our community."

A very small but enjoyable, modern art museum. There are four large rooms on one story only so it is not the largest museum, but the cost of entry is free and parking is easy and plentiful so it makes visiting quite easy. Mesa is not the prettiest part of Arizona but it's not that far from some of the other larger cities like Scottsdale or Phoenix. I wish they had a more diverse selection of artists and more information on the artists themselves but overall it was an enjoyable visit, albeit a quick one due to the size.

Parking at this place is quite convenient, and there are numerous restaurants in downtown Mesa. The venue has superb acoustics, the staff are cooperative, and the seating is comfortable.

What a great venue .. located in downtown Mesa on Main .. plenty of parking.. in the lot or surrounding streets.. ushers at every door pointing the crowd in the right direction .. bars serve doubles on all drinks ($16 double Jack & Coke) Seats were roomy and plenty of leg room.. we saw Shen Yun.. orchestra was great, sound was awesome Lots of restaurants, bars and coffee shops in the area for before or after the show ..

Thank you Mesa Arts for approaching us twice to let us know if our son with Autism needed a blanket, headphones or anything else!!! Two people approached us seeing my son. Thank you for seeing us and letting us know we are welcome and invited to stay. It's good to be seen.

A few years back, I was attending the Ludovico Einaudi concert. Please bring him back to Arizona!

My son and I went to see Shen Yun on Friday night, the Mesa Arts Center is absolutely beautiful. It was all lit up and very inviting. I would have appreciated knowing that most of the area parking is for a fee, however, I was able to find a free spot down the road. The staff was very friendly and amazing. All the ushers were smiling and excited to be there. I would advise taking the elevator to the upper floors and using the stairs to go down. We were seated in the balcony on the 4th floor, and I couldn't have chosen better seats if I tried, we had a wonderful view of the stage and orchestra. The sound was very clear, and the lights were perfect. Shen Yun was absolutely amazing and magical! I highly recommend seeing the show when it comes back to town.

Amazing, a very special place, I am honored to live in Mesa and have this format / music/talent/classes available. Thank you

I've seen many shows in the Ikeda Theater at the Mesa Arts Center. Great productions, and I've always had a great seat. I do appreciate that they still give physical programs at their shows. I have not taken advantage of any refreshments they offer. The restrooms are clean. There are many parking options and places to eat nearby. I prefer to see a show here over downtown Phoenix.

Well I got yelled at by one of the staff today for parking in their parking spot. She almost crashed into me and she could've easily communicated nicely but I think that there should be some psych evaluations done with the lady with bad highlights "delivering props". I have never met a more entitled person at the Mesa Arts Center.

My in-laws surprised us with tickets to see baby shark live at the Mesa arts Center just recently. My one-year-old is obsessed with baby shark and we were also excited when we found out there was an actual show based on this. I had never been here before as I am new to the Phoenix area. What I will say, is that it's a beautiful, clean, and new looking venue. There are several different stages so when you walk in the main entrance, you might still need to walk by a few stages before you find your show. There are ushers around to help. One negative thing is it looked like for a decent size venue, they definitely don't have enough parking available. We ended up parking at a church across the street. My mother-in-law said she tried to purchase parking ahead of time so we didn't have to worry on the day, but that it was unavailable. There are a few different parking lots both covered and not covered, but they were completely full when we got there. Keep that in mind upon arrival. You might wanna go there earlier for that reason. I made the joke because it was a 2 o'clock in the afternoon show, are there any drinks? It was funny because there actually was a full bar. Also they had overpriced merchandise, and snack items available. I don't know how many seats there were but it was much larger than I expected. The show itself was great and the venue was about halfway full. This is a pretty quick Drive for us, so I will be looking at future events moving forward. I did pick up a pamphlet that advertised all the upcoming performances to keep on our radar.

Strangely enough for the years i have lived here and my work in the arts I had never been here before. I finally went this week. Despite the fact that I am already left with a sour taste in my mouth due to two well known artists cancelling shows because of their refusal to honor SAG and Actors Equity Safety rules for performers ( the only ones on a long list of venues across the world, by the way )I was just not impressed with the place. While the venue inside the stage area is pretty the sound was just terrible for our show and we had very good seats for our event so this is perplexing. The lobby is so strange the way it is constructed. It is like a tiny narrow half circle. The path ways are to narrow so people bump into each other. I literally knocked down people trying to get to the bathroom. The will call window is so odd the way it is placed. It is like built into a side corner so it is like a tiny closet. The line cannot hold many people before they hit a wall. It makes no sense. What is it about lack of bathrooms in entertainment venues? Who builds these places and what are they thinking? Do they think that no one ever has to go to the bathroom? There was only one bathroom on the first floor that I could find. If there was another one no one could tell me where since no staff were anywhere to be found. Venues one third the size have more bathrooms. There were at least 50 people on line for the bathroom after the show. The vendor table was not accessible to buy anything due to the disorganization and the people mingling and refusing to form a line. These people were blocking the walkway to get to the bathroom. It needs to be more organized. It is not hard to use traffic flow rope routers. As fas as our seats go they were fine. We had handicap seats so had regular chairs and extra room. The ushers were very nice but they are volunteers and not employed by the place. No staff in lobby at all that we could see. The lighting is pretty. I am not sure if it was geared toward the theme of the performer or if it is always that pretty hue. I gave two stars because it is pretty inside the theater. Parking was confusing and expensive. The staff did not say to ignore the fact that every spot had a no parking, reserved sign on it which I assume we needed to ignore for the night. My driver was not sure and mentioned they do not always charge for parking there. This is moralistically wrong in my opinion. Staff should point out the lot rules too upon entrance when they take the money. A nice, "You can park anywhere despite the signs." would have been helpful. We witnessed two "road ragey" type incidents of behaviors before we even parked and got out of our car. Meh, I am not sure I would go back here. Maybe if some huge performer that I loved was there, perhaps. However, I still might wait or go to another city to see him or her. There are so many more great theaters around. Since shows are so costly these days I do not want to waste my money on aggravation and stress at an entertainment venue.

Took the wife out for a Shen Yun evening. The Mesa Arts Center is a great venue. The show itself was amazing, however this review is for the Mesa Arts Center. Plenty of restroom, easy seating with more then enough leg room. Prices are very reasonable for the drinks and snacks. Everyone there were very helpful, and more then willing to answer all of our questions. Parking is right next door, and very easy to get in and out of. What more can I say? It's just a great place.

Saw the Salt River Brass Band Jazz concert yesterday!! Cannot say enough superlatives!! It was a fun, wonderful, entertaining and delightful afternoon!! SRB is FABULOUS!! Mesa Arts Center is a great venue!!

Did you know Mesa is the third largest city in Arizona and the 38th largest in the country? ...Well, did ya, punk? I have to admit I didn't even know Mesa was even a separate community from Phoenix until I drove about 45 minutes from my hotel to get here. The performing arts theater is the main draw, but I heard the museum was something to do for free, and I'm all for free in an evolving on-demand economy where demands can change on a dime. There's a lot of Southwestern-style sprawl out here, and the center is an oasis of modern artistic expression in an otherwise suburban desert. The architectural touches are nice, especially the streaming fountains and waterways (photo: http://bit.ly/2IQiRJA) and the way the cacti and trees are integrated into the design (photo: http://bit.ly/2pErRZh). The subterranean museum itself was quite modest with just three small galleries open the evening I was there. The focus appeared to be on local artists who created quite a bit of glass art (photo: http://bit.ly/2ufEhN5). As you can see, there's a fine line between art and a Pottery Barn catalog, but the courtyard was a fine social space dominated by a spray-painted mural, El Mac's "Desert Rose" (photo: http://bit.ly/2I3OTAx). Take a look.

Very nice venue with various performance spaces, art classes and museum/gift shop.. I go there several times a year to see National Geographic series and performance artists

This is a beautiful mid size modern event venue. I came to town to see my cousin and he took me to a Weird Al concert here for my bday. The exterior of the building makes your eyes wonder from the flowing man made stream to the unique detail of the building it's self. Once in side all the staff are pleasant and smiling. Even the security staff, which sometimes can be quite intimidating, were smiling and even were handing out items related to our event that really would not normally fall under their job duties. We ordered a few drinks from the bar and the tender gave little bit more to the drink than he needed to. Also, they have lovely volunteers that would talk to us and even joke around with us. The whole evening at MAC was about as close to perfect as you can get.

Such a wonderful Halloween. Quiet not crowded and also an amazing showcase! I hope next year there is something like this or another theme I really loved it and my kids did as well. It was such a fun scavenger hunt and it was absolutely free!!!!!! My kids didn't mind all of the walking. So much to see and it's interactive.