Sotheby’s expects Helen Frankenthaler’s Carousel (1979), a staple of the Palm Springs Art Museum collection since 1994, will bring between $2.5 million and $3.5 million at auction October 28. Palm Springs Art Museum/Gift of Steve Chase

 

ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

Modernism Week Fall Online Experience goes live Oct. 15 (Modernism Week)
Seven online programs — including pre-recorded tours, talks, and films and a live happy hour — bring a bounty of informative and entertaining Modernism Week fun to your screen.

 

ART

Palm Springs Art Museum announces major deaccession amid pandemic crisis (ARTnews)
With deaccession guidelines for museums loosened for a two-year period, Palm Springs Art Museum has announced the impending sale of one of its Helen Frankenthaler paintings.

Radiant Agnes Pelton (Palm Springs Life)
An exhibition of paintings by Agnes Pelton opening in November at Palm Springs Art Museum offers a portal into the mind of the revered “desert transcendentalist” artist.

Photographer Jeff Frost chases the fires (Artnet)
He spent five years chasing 70 raging infernos across California, shooting some 40 terabytes of footage for California on Fire, a 25-minute time-lapse film documenting the devastating effects of intensifying climate change-fueled blazes. This summer, amid the worst fire season in the state’s history, Frost felt a responsibility to draw attention to the issue.

Vandalism answered with public art in Palm Springs (The Desert Sun)
After an incident of vandalism at the James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center this past summer, the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission wanted to show the center and the surrounding neighborhood some love.

Dunn-Edwards salutes Tysen Knight (dunnedwards.com)
What better way to beautify a city than with a new public art? The Palm Springs Public Art Commission invited the pop-style street artist to paint 10 benches to launch the initiative.

 

FILM

4 locations that lure Hollywood cameras to the desert (Palm Springs Life)
While the recent Andy Samberg rom-com Palm Springs wasn’t actually shot here, Hollywood has frequently made Coachella Valley settings famous in film and television over the decades. Get a close-up of these iconic filming locations.

 

HERITAGE

UCR offers first-ever university course in Cahuilla language (UC Riverside)
UC Riverside offers the Cahuilla language as an accredited four-class series that satisfies most undergraduate foreign language requirements. It’s the first time the Native language has been offered in the University of California system.

 

MUSIC

Concert for Autism supports vital therapy programs (KESQ)
The 13th annual Concert for Autism goes virtual Oct.16-18, with local bands and musicians contributing three-song sets and founders/promoters/musicians Josh Heinz and Linda Lemke Heinz, parents of autistic children, ending the event with a live performance from their living room. The show benefits the Desert Autism Foundation’s speech, music, occupational therapy programs.

Coachella, Stagecoach will move to fall 2021 (Rolling Stone)
Sources who have been in direct communication with AEG and Goldenvoice, the concert-promotion companies that organize the festival, say they have been asked to prepare for a move to the fall.

Coachella organizers roll out diversity and inclusion initiatives (Rolling Stone)
A “diverse group of employee allies” within Goldenvoice say they’re determined to “expand on racial justice work,” update hiring procedures, collaborate with black creatives on merch, and more.

Yawning Man records live concert at Giant Rock (The Desert Sun)
In the 1990s, Yawning Man bassist Mario Lalli threw “generator parties” in the raw desert. The Coachella Valley band nods to this past in their new film, Live at Giant Rock, a concert filmed at the 7-story-tall boulder near Landers in the High Desert.

Empty Seat release features Cherie Currie of The Runaways (Coachella Valley Weekly)
With “Rise,” the La Quinta rockers displays their versatility and gives the world an anthem in dark times. Noe Gutierrez catch up with the band and their pioneering guest vocalist.

New arena hints at post-COVID concert-going experience (The Desert Sun)
In addition to A-list concerts, Oak View Group’s arena planned for Palm Desert features sanitation stations, grab-and-go concessions with no human interaction, and an air circulation system with new technology for ventilation.

 

THEATER AND STAGE

Desert Star Awards honor the best of local theater (Coachella Valley Weekly)
Winners include director Darin Anthony, actors David Youse and Deborah Harmon, and many other individuals and theater companies, including Dezart Performs’ presentation of Daniel’s Husband.

Desert Theatreworks shines at Desert Star Awards (Uken Report)
The Desert Theatre League considered more than 70 productions this past season throughout the Coachella Valley and High Desert. Indio’s Desert Theatreworks received the most wins and nominations for the annual Desert Star Awards.

CVRep, Cathedral City collaborate on outdoor entertainment (The Desert Sun)
Riverside County entered the red tier of business re-openings last week, but theaters, dance companies and other art organizations remain closed. So, Coachella Valley Repertory Theater is working on a plan for outdoor entertainment at the City of Cathedral City’s new amphitheater.

McCallum Theatre donors raise $545K for education programs (The Desert Sun)
The Muses & Patroness Circle of McCallum Theatre raised $545,000 to support arts education programs serving more than 40,000 Coachella Valley schoolchildren and educators. 

PS comedy fest online through Oct. 18 (The Desert Sun)
The Palm Springs International Comedy Festival features 100 competing comedians, 200 streaming films, 80 professional comics, celebrity judges and more. The Desert Sun’s Brian Blueskye talks to festival president Paul Cruz about producing it as an online event.