In the depths of summer, the desert’s art and culture scene offers a refreshing flow of cool programming. From art exhibitions and film screenings to music and dance performances, Greater Palm Springs proves itself as an oasis for arts lovers all year long.
Photo: Didier Massard’s Cibachrome print Caravan (1993-97) appears in the exhibition Contemporary Sublime: The Photographic Collecting of William G. Butler at the Palm Springs Art Museum. Image courtesy William G. Butler and Palm Springs Art Museum.
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
WALKER GUEST HOUSE: Tour a replica of the Paul Rudolph’s Walker Guest House, an icon of Sarasota modernism, in downtown Palm Springs on weekends through March 2020. Info
ART
SPIRIT MESSAGES: An exhibition featuring artwork by Andrea Raft, Carole Hatcher, Eduardo Carriazo, Meridy Volz, Terry Hastings, and ULRIKE opens August 1 at Gallery 500, in The Five Hundred building in Palm Springs. Info
ART IN IDYLLWILD: Idyllwild Art in the Park, a combination of art and nature, is set for August 3–4 and August 31–September 1, featuring an eclectic mix of ceramics, painting, glass, jewelry, woodworking, photography, and fiber as well as live music in a charming village.
ART WALK: Visit artists in their natural habitat — their studios and galleries! — August 7 during free-to-the-public Backstreet Art District Art Walk in Palm Springs. Info
CONTRASTS: Promised Gifts from the Kaplan-Ostergaard Glass Collection, through September 15 at Palm Springs Art Museum, showcases blown, cast, and kiln-formed glass by artists including Emma Camden, Steve Klein, and Nick Mount. Info
SUBLIME PHOTOGRAPHY: Contemporary Sublime: The Photographic Collecting of William G. Butler, an exhibition through October 6 at the Palm Springs Art Museum, taps into unconscious experiences and creates a psychological connection between viewer and image. Info
SHAPING VISION: Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism — showcasing paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Willem de Kooning, Édouard Manet, Joan Mitchell, and Mark Rothko — runs through October 13 at Palm Springs Art Museum. Info
BRAVE NEW WORLDS: Explorations of Space, at the Palm Springs Art Museum through December 15, features projects by Kelly Akashi, Gisela Colon, Victoria Fu, Karen Lofgren, and Adee Roberson. Info
FLIGHT PLAN: The Birds of Sunnylands, the exhibition of 52 photographs by National Geographic lensman Tim Laman at Sunnylands Center and Gardens last season, has been reinstalled at the Coachella Valley History Museum in Indio through May 2020 (open Fridays and Saturdays during summer). Info
HERITAGE
FLASHBACK: La Quinta Museum presents Roadtrip: Route 66 through September 14. Info
FILM
TIMELAPSE FILM FEST: On August 3, a worldwide community of time-lapse filmmakers converges on Joshua Tree Retreat Center for a festival of screening in a variety of categories, culminating in an awards program that names a best in show. Info
MEDIUM COOL: Palm Springs Art Museum’s free Summer Film Series celebrates the summer of 1969 with an August 8 screening of Medium Cool, which follows a hardened TV news cameraman (Robert Forster) in a time of social unrest in America. Info
LIT FLICK: The book-to-screen film series at UCR Palm Desert celebrates Jane Austen on August 14 with a free screening of Mansfield Park, followed by a discussion of the adaptation. Info
THE RAIN PEOPLE: Palm Springs Art Museum’s free Summer Film Series continues August 22 with a screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain People. Info
MUSIC & STAGE
A LIFE ON STAGE: Christopher Carothers, one of the stars of CVRep’s production of Romance/Romance, returns August 3 with cabaret show, a musical memoir called Life, Love and Hollywood, which traces his life from growing up in a famous Hollywood home to his own globetrotting career on stage. Info
DANCE AT CVREP: The Michael Nickerson-Rossi Dance Company is making CVRep Playhouse in Cathedral City its home base in the Coachella Valley and hosting a celebration, including a dance performance, on August 4. Info
IDYLLWILD STRONG: Six stages of nonstop music over three days, August 16–18, benefits Idyllwild Strong, a fundraising concert to support ongoing disaster relief from the Cranston fire and more recent flooding. Info
FRINGE FEST: A dozen local nontraditional, gritty, edgy, and thought-provoking performers are set to take the stage August 23–25 at the Hi Def Fringe Fest at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center. Info
