Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf, who was scheduled to appear at the Palm Springs Photo Festival (postponed to Sept. 20–25), shot a series called “Palm Springs” to reveal the “cracks in the perfect world.” Courtesy Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York
COVID-19
$50K in grants available to local artists, arts organizations (Cactus Hugs)
The fund, established by CDAC and affiliate La Quinta Arts Foundation, will award grants to artists of all disciplines and nonprofit arts organizations to create “thoughtful, inspiring, and relevant works responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Artists, arts organizations report staggering impact from COVID-19 (California Arts Council)
California Arts Council surveyed individual artists and arts organizations to gather early data on the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on the state’s arts and culture sector. Here are the results.
Museums, galleries go virtual during COVID-19 crisis (The Desert Sun)
Palm Springs Art Museum is planning weekly virtual showcases and three other local museums and arts organizations are taking the stay-at-home period as an opportunity to put upcoming exhibitions online.
Virtual student art exhibition under way (The Desert Sun)
The competition — open to all K-12 students in public, charter, private, parochial, or home school programs in Riverside County — runs six weeks, each with a different theme. Students can win cash prizes for their work.
CAC extends grant deadline (California Arts Council)
The deadline for the California Arts Council Innovations + Intersections grant program has been extended to May 1. Support of up to $500,000 is available for arts-based strategies incorporating the health and/or technology sectors to address society’s most pressing issues and opportunities.
CV entertainers left ‘high and dry’ (The Desert Sun)
The cancellations of shows and private events are indefinite or uncertain. Many local performers depend on their live bookings for half or the entirety of their income.
‘Out of work and concerned about my livelihood’ (The Desert Sun)
For independent contractors who are considered self-employed, there aren’t any options to pursue, even with possible stimulus packages on the way and assistance for small business owners.
ART
The grass isn’t greener in Erwin Olaf’s Palm Springs (Palm Springs Life)
The Dutch photographer shot his most recent series in Palm Springs, and the highly stylized images reveal the “cracks in the perfect world.”
Palm Springs Art Museum at home! (psmuseum.org)
Each week during the stay-at-home order, the museum’s chief curator discusses works of art, architecture, and design from the permanent collection and offers activities to pursue at home.
Sequestered in France, David Hockney offers words of advice (The Guardian)
The artist has a little advice for anyone who fancies taking up art as a lockdown hobby: take out the pencils or brushes, and put away the camera.
Steven Silverstein embraces the light (Palm Springs Life)
An incident at the pool as a child had a lasting effect on the way the Palm Springs photographer experiments with light and creates images that look like abstract paintings, with colorful layers of geometric shapes.
MUSIC & DANCE
Coachella Valley musicians are livestreaming (The Desert Sun)
Collyn McCoy of the band Diesel Boots is streaming a daily performance, DJ Alf Alpha is streaming DJ sets over Instagram, and many others are planning to start streaming soon.
Coachella, Stagecoach aiming for October (The Desert Sun)
Producer Goldenvoice is offering refunds for ticket holders who are unable to attend the rescheduled Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals in October.
THEATER
The biggest play you’ll ever see (Palm Springs Life)
On a hillside in Hemet every spring, a couple of professional actors, a few horses, and an entire community bring a slice of California history to life.
Rancho Mirage will stage award-winning theatrical productions (Palm Springs Life)
Last year, LimonCarr Desert Theatricals, in partnership with the City of Rancho Mirage, made its debut at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater with a holiday extravaganza. To call it was a success would be an understatement.
Cause for applause (Palm Springs Life)
In its seventh year, Musical Theatre University is seeing the results of exposing students to performing arts professionals and practical experience.
FILM & TELEVISION
Palm Springs–based daytime actors team up for ‘Studio City’ (Palm Springs Life)
Sean Kannan and Tristan Rogers have launched a six-part, semi-autobiographical web series about a daytime soap star. Studio City, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, shows promise, having garnered 12 nominations from the 11th Annual Indie Series Awards.
HERITAGE
An American in Paris (Palm Springs Life)
Almost a century ago, Desert Hot Springs pioneer Cabot Yerxa studied art in France and documented the time in his journal.
New book sheds light on Cahuilla history (Palm Springs Life)
Anthropologist and author Lowell John Bean, widely regarded as the preeminent scholar on the Cahuilla Indians, encapsulates his lifelong research of the people of the Palm Springs area in his new book, Time Immemorial: The Traditional Ways and History of the Members of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, due for release later this year.
LITERARY
Palm Springs Library offers digital card (Palm Springs Life)
The digital card, valid for 90 days, provides users access to all of the library’s digital offerings, including eBooks, audiobooks, magazines, movies, TV, music, homework help, online classes, and more.
