Cahuilla artist Gerald Clarke includes “branded books” in his debut exhibition, Gerald Clarke: Falling Rock, opening January 18 at Palm Springs Art Museum. Photograph courtesy Palm Springs Art Museum.
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
Modern masterpiece will go to auction (The Desert Sun)
A replica of the 1952 Paul Rudolph–designed Walker Guest House that has been on display since October 2018 in downtown Palm Springs goes to auction in February, and bidding will start at $10,000. (In December, Sotheby’s sold the original, in Sanibel Island, Florida, for $920,000.)
ART
Museum to open exhibition for Cahuilla artist Gerald Clarke (Palm Springs Life)
Native artists’ depictions of U.S. injustices date back to Wounded Knee, but Cahuilla Gerald Clarke’s clever twists prove worthy of a Palm Springs Art Museum exhibition, opening January 18.
UCR Palm Desert hosts Artists Council exhibition (Coachella Valley Weekly)
The fifth annual Creative Expressions exhibition, which continues through January 31, features members’ art in a variety of media, and all works are for sale.
Artists and art lovers converge on the Southwest Arts Festival (CV Independent)
The 34th edition of the Southwest Arts Festival is set for January 23–26, featuring a juried mix of 250 artists from around the United States showing paintings, sculpture, photography, and more at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.
Palm Desert council rebuffs effort to take issue with Desert X (The Desert Sun)
Amid concerns about its exhibition of site-specific art in Saudi Arabia this January, Desert X organizers say they’re engaging with the people, not the crown prince, and point to positive changes in recent months.
FILM & TELEVISION
Palm Springs filmmakers debut Pierre Cardin documentary (Palm Springs Life)
The hunt for a Pierre Cardin–designed coffee table led P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes triggered a shopping spree for all things designed by the fashion icon — as well as their documentary, House of Cardin.
Filmmaker explores why artists are drawn to the desert (The Desert Sun)
In Iconicity, Rancho Mirage filmmaker Leo Zahn delivers a vibrant look at exterior art in Coachella Valley but also asks a compelling question: Why is certain art created in the desert?
Desert-based sitcom could debut this month (Coachella Valley Weekly)
Amazon Prime Video will release the first season (six episodes) of Mark’s Place, which follows a Chicago hit man from who relocates with the help of The Witness Protection Program to Palm Springs and opens an Irish Pub, in late January.
HISTORY & HERITAGE
Museum of Ancient Wonders opens in Cathedral City (The Desert Sun)
The museum, located next door to Big Lots in the shopping plaza at Date Palm and East Palm Canyon drives in Cathedral City, houses replicas of Egyptian and African treasures, as well as laboratory casts of important fossil discoveries and NASA photographs of the universe, all for public viewing.
ISSUES
Here’s how California’s new freelancer law affects creative people (LAist)
The new California law (AB5) aimed at “gig” workers, such as Uber and Lyft drivers, could have a crippling effect on freelance writers, photographers, musicians, film and television workers, and other creative people.
New law wreaks havoc on arts organizations (San Francisco Classical Voice)
Island City Opera has postponed a production as a result of AB5, California’s new “gig work law,” and the Berkeley Chamber Opera and other Bay Area arts organizations are seeing a chain reaction in the music community.
LITERARY
National Book Awards finalist centers on High Desert incident (CV Independent)
Familiar High Desert landmarks, including a national park and a military base, create a backdrop for The Other Americans, the fourth novel by Moroccan-American writer Laila Lalami, who paints an unsparing portrait of the American West.
MUSIC
Tribute series celebrates the legends (Palm Springs Life)
An assemblage of blue-chip singing and storytelling talents honor legendary performers including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley, Steve and Eydie Gormé in a tribute series of shows at McCallum Theatre.
