Coachella–based psychedelic cumbia group Ocho Ojos was invited to perform both weekends of this April’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. Photo: Courtesy Ocho Ojos
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
10 Modernism Week events not to miss (Palm Springs Life)
Architecture and design enthusiasts return to Greater Palm Springs for 11 days of tours, exhibitions, talks, and parties during the marathon stretch of Modernism Week. These will be the 10 most talked-about events and attractions.
FILM
PSIFF awards diverse class of honorees at gala (The Desert Sun)
This month, Rami Malek, Alfonso Cuarón, Regina King, Spike Lee, Olivia Colman, and Timothée Chalamet were among the most diverse group of honorees in the history of the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
HISTORY & HERITAGE
Postcards From Mecca: how to save a desert artist (California Desert Art)
In the last couple of years, writer Ann Japenga feasted on 2,000 historic photos of the unexplored desert east of the Salton Sea taken by 1930s Mecca postmaster Susie Keef Smith and her cousin Lula Mae Graves. You can see the photos in a new book and in an exhibit she edited and curated with Warner V. Graves III. It runs January 15-May 11, 2019 at La Quinta Museum.
Artistry of a gourd rattle (Palm Springs Life)
Like their ancestors, today’s Agua Caliente bird singers craft their gourd rattles almost entirely from materials found in nature.
Heritage on display (Palm Springs Life)
Local museums offer a portal into Cahuilla heritage and Native American culture, allowing visitors to discover ancient artifacts, admire time-honored craftsmanship, and stroll fragrant gardens filled with native medicinal and culinary plants.
ISSUES & IDEAS
KCOD nominated for 8 collegiate broadcasting awards (Coachella Valley Weekly)
The student-run radio station at College of the Desert is up for Best Community College Radio Station in the Nation and seven other awards to be given by the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System.
A fundraiser’s words to live by (Inside Philanthropy)
A seasoned pro pays homage to the fundraising profession by sharing 10 homilies to live by (or not).
Together, artists and engineers bring ‘color and beauty’ to cities (EPeak World News)
The Los Angeles Transportation Department is turning to artists to bring a fresh approach to projects and planning.
MUSIC
Ocho Ojos confirmed for Coachella festival (The Desert Sun)
The local band known for its psychedelic cumbia style returns to the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival this April along with an appreciable roster of Latin artists.
Coachella drops 2019 lineup (Cactus Hugs)
Childish Gambino, Tame Impala, and Ariana Grande headline both weekends in April at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. Here’s the full lineup.
The Flusters drop new record, ‘Dreamsurf’ (Coachella Valley Weekly)
The Coachella Valley–based indie rock band The Flusters will release their new record, Dreamsurf. The album is available as a pre-order on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and SoundCloud.
Desert musicians look back on 2018 (Coachella Valley Weekly)
Looking back on the past year, Coachella Valley Weekly asked some of the desert’s preeminent musicians about their most memorable highlights and challenges.
THEATER AND STAGE
CV Storytellers Project returns (The Desert Sun)
The Desert Sun’s popular public program CV Storytellers Project, where community members tell their real stories in front of a live audience, has a fresh lineup for 2019.
VISUAL ART
Desert X expands to Salton Sea, announces hub locations (The Desert Sun)
Desert X, the biennial exhibition of site-specific art unfolding throughout the Coachella Valley Feb. 9 to April 21, will expand its footprint to the Salton Sea. Organizers also announced three hub locations and a few partnerships and hinted they’d reveal this year’s artists later in January.
Mojave Desert get Santa Monica exhibition (Coachella Valley Weekly)
Sixteen Mojave Desert-based artists represented by Joshua Tree Art Gallery appear Jan. 5–26 in the exhibition Mojave Made at Santa Monica Art Studio Hangar Galleries.
Desert Art Center continues mission to engage residents in art (CV Independent)
Founded in 1950, Desert Art Center offers residents of and visitors to the valley low-cost classes, workshops, programs for students, high school scholarships, seminars and a gallery staffed by the member artists themselves.
Can you make it as an artist without constantly plugging yourself on Instagram? (New York)
In today’s globalized art world, where collectors buy artwork based on pictures they scroll through on their phones, encourages artists to sign in and show off.
