In the hours before California’s stay-at-home order went into effect, Indio–based photographer Dean Mayo was shooting at Bombay Beach, the tiny town on the east coast of the Salton Sea, where he captured A Time Gone By, a surreal scene with a swing set in the water.

“It jumped out at me because this was at a time where the virus started to take hold of our everyday life and would change life as we know,” says Mayo, whose photograph earned $500 to Keep Art Alive — a grant from the California Desert Arts Council (CDAC) offering relief to working visual and performing artists whose livelihood has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. ”As I observed the scene I couldn’t help but reflect on the setting from which it was taken. Many years ago, Bombay Beach was a thriving tourist attraction. Today, it is basically a ghost town.

“I saw the mailbox and the swing set and wondered what lied between,” he continues. “Probably a young, thriving, happy family, and now there is a void between the two focal points. I thought to myself, ‘Could this be our destiny? What is this pandemic capable of?’ It was a time of great uncertainty for me, but for some reason I came away feeling very encouraged. I believe in the human spirit and have faith that we will defeat this virus and come away much stronger than we were.”

A golf pro-turned-landscape and golf course photographer, Mayo has exhibited and sold his work to private and corporate collectors around the country for 15 years. His images have also appeared magazines and books. “It is truly an honor to have something you create admired and enjoyed by so many people,” he says. “I am very grateful for being able to do something I love so much.”

CDAC and affiliate La Quinta Arts Foundation established a $50,000 Keep Art Alive fund to award grants to Coachella Valley artists and arts organizations who create thoughtful, inspiring, and relevant works responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Life may not get back to normal for a long time, but I believe we will thrive when we come together for a common purpose,” Mayo says. “I would love to put an image of prosperity in void of this picture when we finally defeat it.”

Incidentally, artists created the swing set in the photograph for the Bombay Beach Biennale, a community-driven arts initiative that started four years ago as a weekend festival.

Follow Dean Mayo on Instagram at @deanmayo or visit him at foretography.com