Towering sculptures created by Francis Kéré for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival are being installed in Indio’s Dr. Carreon Park. Photograph by Lance Gerber/courtesy City of Indio
ART
Ed Ruscha, Neville Wakefield on Desert X in Saudi Arabia (KCRW)
As Desert X prepares to mount an exhibition in AlUla, in the northwestern desert region of Saudi Arabia, KCRW talked to artist Ed Ruscha and Desert X artistic director Neville Wakefield about art and ethics, engagement versus isolationism, how to intervene in fragile desert terrain — and what to do when petroleum permeates all our lives.
Indio lands massive, colorful public art installation (The Desert Sun)
Indio’s Dr. Carreon Park will become the next home for Sarbalé Ke, the large-scale art installation that debuted at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival earlier this year. Another festival installation, Etherea, was sited last year in Coachella.
Artists Council Exhibition honors the Kellers (CV Independent)
A sunflower theme, honoring supporters Jerry and the late Barbara Keller, runs through the exhibition, which continues through Nov. 22 at Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert. The juried show features 82 artworks in a variety of media by locally based artists.
Museum introduces series of Artful Events (Palm Springs Life)
Tickets are on sale for a series of 14 events, parties, and experiences in art, music, and beyond, with proceeds benefiting Palm Springs Art Museum.
La Quinta Art Celebration on track, organizer says (The Desert Sun)
The city’s new signature, fine arts festival will debut March, featuring 220 artists from all over the world, including 14 who reside locally. The festival will include a margarita village and a wine experience featuring top wines from Napa, Sonoma, and the Central Coast.
An alternative look at rarely seen Agnes Pelton paintings (California Desert Art)
Ann Japenga’s California Desert Art blog presents an essay by Jan Rindfleisch, a former director of the EuphratMuseum of Art who was involved in Agnes Pelton’s rediscovery, exploring lesser-known portraits, landscapes, and abstractions.
How John Hilton became a desert painter (Palm Springs Life)
The gem collector and diamond appraiser came to the Coachella Valley to collect on a debt and left as a figure in local lore and art history.
FILM
Palm Springs costume designer is off to the races (Palm Springs Life)
Daniel Orlandi hadn’t considered the lives — or style — of race car drivers until he read the script for Ford v Ferrari, the film out this month that tells the story of Ford Motor Company’s audacious attempt to beat Ferrari at the historic 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1966.
Three’s a charm for Palm Springs filmmaker (Palm Springs Life)
Matt Lynn has created a bold new web series with as much sex appeal as depth. “The Third is a show about surrogate families and the unexpected but deeply meaningful connections we make that enrich our lives,” says Lynn, who lives in Palm Springs, which is also the setting of the series.
HERITAGE
5 questions for the founder of Run With Los Muertos (CV Independent)
Tradition with a twist is the name of the game for Run With Los Muertos, which recently hosted its seventh annual event — featuring an artful procession, 5K race, live music, and food — in downtown Coachella.
Performers announced for Plaza Theatre fundraiser (The Desert Sun)
Nancy Sinatra’s Feb. 16 fundraiser to support the restoration of the historic Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs will feature actor and singer James Darren, jazz vocalist Steve Tyrell, and Nancy’s daughters, A.J. Lambert and Amanda Erlinger.
Museum of Ancient Wonders opens in Cathedral City (Palm Springs Life)
A modest strip mall at the corner of Highway 111 and Date Palm Drive is an unlikely place for King Tutankhamun’s golden chariot and the skull of a T-Rex, but Alberto Acosta and Joe McCabe are making it work. The Museum of Ancient Wonders opened Oct. 26, showing a portion of Acosta’s extensive collection of replicas of Egyptian antiquities and dinosaur fossils, along with artistic recreations of African masks representing 3,500 years of tribal ritual and mysticism.
MUSIC
Sixty years in the making, PS jazz fest ready to go (The Desert Sun)
City leaders began discussing an international jazz festival for Palm Springs in 1958. This month, it will finally happen, as 10-time Grammy winner and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval blows into town Nov. 23 for the inaugural Palm Springs International Jazz Festival.
Thermal to host new music festival in January (The Desert Sun)
A new music festival called 4xFAR unfolds Jan. 18-19 at Empire Grand Oasis in Thermal — a new estate for Alex Haagen III, who also owns Empire Polo Club, host of the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals. The new event will feature outdoor adventure activities and performances by Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Mark Ronson and Q-Tip, Sofi Tukker, and more.
Local hip-hop artists rap at All in Cypher (CV Weekly)
Six desert-based hip hop artists coming together to showcase their lyrical rap skills at the free-to-the-public All In Cypher event at Westfield Palm Desert.
THEATER AND STAGE
‘Mormon Boy’ takes residency at Hotel Zoso (CV Independent)
Steven Fales has begun Tuesday-night performances of his acclaimed one-man show, Confessions of a Mormon Boy, at The Club at Hotel Zoso. Weekly performances continue through the end of January.
