Photo: Giant baby sculptures by Czech artist David Černý have captured the imagination of residents and visitors in downtown Palm Springs. Courtesy/Hohmann Fine Art

 

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

Modernism Week raised $1.5 million for local organizations, neighborhoods (The Desert Sun)
Event chairman William Kopelk tells The Desert Sun: “We are elated that Modernism Week continues to offer an opportunity for neighborhood and partner organizations to raise funds that they use for preservation, education, civic improvements, or to reinvest into the local community.”

Can great architecture save classical music? (Congress for the New Urbanism)
Andrew Balio, founder of the Future Symphony Institute and principal trumpet with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, explains why concert hall architecture and urban planning are important to orchestras.

DANCE

The greatest obstacle for boys who do ballet is often their own father (Huffington Post)
Most boys who dance ballet face tremendous resistance ― from their families, friends, and society at large.

HERITAGE

Secret of the ‘magical needle’ unites women near Salton Sea (The Desert Sun)
North Shore resident Maria Conchita Pozar González is using the art of la aguja maravillosa as a grassroots form of activism, teaching workshops full of women not just the secrets of the magical needle, but the importance of coming together and speaking out.

IDEAS

Pop-up box offices in supermarkets? (Arts Professional)
The project develops relationships with people from areas of low arts engagement and high deprivation, encouraging them to come to the theatre, often for the first time.

The new look of arts journalism (Nieman Reports)
Arts writing is going through one of its richest periods of innovation, and much of the experimentation is happening outside of traditional media.

A link between creativity and emotional intelligence (Pacific Standard)
While many people associate imaginative genius with emotional problems, research suggests that higher creativity is, in fact, linked to the emotional self-awareness that allows artists and innovators to ride the ups and downs of the creative process.

What will art look like in 100 years (artnet news)
In the spirit of looking forward to the uncertain world 100 years hence, artnet news asked a range of artists, from Michelle Grabner to Doug Aitken to Nick Cave, to predict what the world — and art — will look like in a century.

INNOVATION

Innovators, creators sought for Arts Tank GPS (Palm Springs Life)
Applications are open for Arts Tank Greater Palm Springs, a Shark Tank-like program inviting creative people and organizations to pitch big-impact ideas to win valuable support. Applications are due Aug. 15, 2018.

LITERARY ARTS

New indie titles are attempting to hack the publishing industry (The Irish Times)
These magazines play with the form and cover diverse subject matter, from mental health to trans rights, from football to street wear. They are driven by a passion, and thanks to technology, they reach audiences around the world.

Poetry is making a comeback (NPR)
In the last five years, the number of U.S. adults who are reading poetry has nearly doubled, according to a new survey by the National Endowment for the Arts, which announced that “as a share of the total U.S. adult population, this poetry readership is the highest on record over a 15-year period.”

MUSIC & STAGE

CV Music Awards honors top local talent (CV Weekly)
The CV Music Awards honored 41 desert-based bands, musicians, albums, producers, promoters, events, and technicians.

Scott Dreier’s cabaret tribute to Doris Day at CV Rep (CV Independent)
Coachella Valley Repertory’s summer series bring The Doris Day Project, by Scott Dreier, to the desert June 22-24. The cabaret show came about because of the actor’s obsession with Day.

What is “excellence” in theatre? (American Theatre)
Chad Bauman, managing director of Milwaukee Repertory Theater, builds a definition on artistic quality; equity, diversity, and inclusion; originality; audience; and financial stability.

VISUAL ART

Giant babies in downtown Palm Springs! (Palm Springs Life)
Ten giant babies, each 8 feet tall with barcodes where facial features should be, are downtown Palm Springs, in the “sand pit” behind the Kimpton Rowan hotel. Social media is already abuzz about the temporary sculpture installation, on loan from Czech artist David Černý.

‘Jump for Joy’ mural unveiled at Palm Springs Cultural Center (Palm Springs Life)
Artist-in-residence Eyoalha Baker unveiled a mural at the Palm Springs Cultural Center composed of 149 photographs of Coachella Valley residents jumping for joy.

Will ‘Forever Marilyn’ return to Palm Springs? (KMIR)
It has been four years since the Forever Marilyn sculpture left downtown Palm Springs, with the promise that she would be back, but a recent article by Time magazine shows the sculpture in front of a church in Stamford Connecticut… so when will she return exactly?

High Desert exhibition responds to border wall (Palm Springs Life)
Available to All, the inaugural site-specific art installation organized by Rough Play Projects in Joshua Tree, stems from founder Elizabeth Tinglof’s “feeling of deep sadness” about the prospect of a border wall and features a trio of desert-based artists.