Kathleen Ryan’s Ghost Tree in Desert Hot Springs has emerged as one of the most popular of the site-specific art installations
in Desert X, a valleywide exhibition continuing through April 21. Photo courtesy Steven Biller.
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
‘Forgotten Frey’ house opens to public tours during Modernism Week (Palm Springs Life)
Be among the first to see the restored hillside Cree House, which features some of architect Albert Frey’s signature characteristics: a spectacular siting, a jutting balcony with fiberglass railings, and thin roof overhangs.
9 tours not to miss at Modernism Week (Los Angeles Times)
The annual 11-day festival devoted to modernist architecture and design and historic preservation has more than 300 events. We look forward to these nine tours.
Murals transform a 1955 ranch house in Old Las Palmas (Palm Springs Life)
Distinctive figurative murals by artist Zio Ziegler cover architect and winemaker Tod Mostero’s refreshed version of his family’s vacation home.
HISTORY & HERITAGE
Agnes Pelton House opens Feb. 24 for Museum Day (Palm Springs Life)
The historic Agnes Pelton house in Cathedral City opens for the inaugural Pelton House Museum Day Feb. 24 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event celebrates the history and legacy of its namesake painter, as well as the former artist colonists who also lived and made art in the Cathedral Cove neighborhood.
ISSUES & IDEAS
Artists confront past, present, and future of the Salton Sea (The Desert Sun)
The artworks, site-specific installations that are part of the Desert X exhibition, range from a dance performance and series of sculptures to a floating platform on the lake and artwork only seen on a smartphone screen and include a set of staircases offering “A Point of View.”
Newsom’s budget boosts funding the arts (Californians for the Arts)
The advocacy organization Californians for the Arts responds to Governor Newsom’s proposed 2019-20 budget, which includes a permanent $10 million increase in state funding for the arts, from $16 million to $26 million.
Neighborhood change through creative placemaking (Kresge Foundation)
This free download reports on developments in the conception and assessment of creative placemaking initiatives and, more generally, the assessment of comprehensive community-development strategies.
MUSIC
Kind Music Festival ready to turn on Desert Hot Springs (CV Weekly)
The all-ages festival pop-up event set for Feb. 23 at the future site of Tyson Ranch Resorts features Miguel, Ferg, Starcrawler, Reese LaFlare, and others.
Splash House announces dates for summer (The Desert Sun)
The seventh annual electronic music event, produced by Goldenvoice and local partners Tyler McLean and Kelly McLean Lewin, returns June 7-9 and Aug. 9-11 poolside at three Palm Springs hotels and on the tarmac at the Palm Springs Air Museum.
Local drummer Josh Ballard perseveres with a new project (CV Weekly)
The former Hollace percussionist plays drums, guitar, bass, and keyboards in a tribute project featuring the songs of Paul Borne.
THEATER
CV Rep to open Cathedral City playhouse with ‘Chess’ (Palm Springs Life)
The Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre will open its newly renovated, 208-seat playhouse in Cathedral City on March 13 with the musical CHESS, featuring music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of the rock group ABBA.
VISUAL ART
Why this Desert X is better than the last one (The Desert Sun)
The biennial exhibition of site-specific art has raised more money, added professional staff, grew and diversified the roster of participating artists, and expanded its reach to address the ecological crisis at the Salton Sea in addition to immigration and other pressing issues.
Residents concerned about Desert X safety, environmental impact (The Desert Sun)
Following the postponement of Jenny Holzer’s projection at Whitewater Preserve, residents have raised concerns about two more Desert X installations by Sterling Ruby and Superflex.
Local artists, organizations shine in Desert X Parallel Projects (Palm Springs Life)
Makerville, Coachella Valley Art Center, Cabot’s Pueblo Museum, Marks Art Center at College of the Desert, and others have produced “parallel projects” to showcase local artists during Desert X.
La Quinta Arts Festival wins top spot in national ranking — again (Coachella Valley Weekly)
For the fifth time in seven years, Greg Lawler’s Art Fair SourceBook named La Quinta Arts Festival as the No. 1 Fine Art Festival in the United States, based on art sales and overall quality experience. Additionally, Sunshine Artist has awarded LQAF its No. 1 Fine Art and Design Show designation.
Sam Francis exhibition features a monumental treasure (Palm Springs Life)
Two stories tall and almost 18 feet wide, A Whirling Square consumes you in a way that few paintings can. This is how Sam Francis liked to express infinity: painting in monumental scale and commanding the entirety of your peripheral vision.
Exhibition in Indio recalls the lynching of Mexicans in California (Uken Report)
One of the most powerful and chilling art exhibitions in recent memory, 149: Contemporary Thoughts on the Lynchings of Mexicans in California 1848-1895, depicts an atrocious moment in our state’s history. The exhibition continues through April 21 at the Coachella Valley Art Center in Indio.
