Desert X unveiled The Art of Taming Horses, an installation by New York-based artist Christopher Myers, on Tahquitz Canyon Way in Palm Springs. Photograph courtesy Desert X.
ART
New Desert X poses a ‘monumental’ question (Palm Springs Life)
Artist Christopher Myers’ six sculptures, an installation titled The Art of Taming Horses on Tahquitz Canyon Way, tell “the fictional story of two ranchers, one Hispanic and one African-American, whose personal journeys and love for raising horses led them to create a welcoming community that would eventually become Palm Springs.”
‘History of Suspended Time’ goes up at Palm Springs Art Museum (The Desert Sun)
Artist Gonzalo Lebrija’s History of Suspended Time (A Monument for the Impossible) features a car that appears suspended, in a nosediving position, over a pool of liquid, as if it is frozen in time.
CREATE center celebrates new home in Palm Desert (CV Independent)
The 20,000-square-foot building has separate studios for textiles, paint, printmaking, and photography as well as a broadcast studio, digital design lab, and Cloud Room for performances and events.
Gary Wexler’s second act (Palm Springs Life)
It’s been about two years since graphic designer Gary Wexler untethered himself from his Mac and began creating his own art. Now, he’s laying down his groovy shapes, bright colors, and dramatic type in large-scale screenprints that he shows at Flow Modern in downtown Palm Springs and his studio in the Backstreet Art District.
Local artists open their studios (Palm Springs Life)
Artists Kim Manfredi, Lynda Keeler, and Anne Bedrick organized the free self-guided Desert Open Studios Tour, featuring 67 artists working in all media around the Coachella Valley.
Native artist responds to Desert X installation (California Desert Art)
Weshoyot Alvitre, a Tongva and Scottish comic book artist and illustrator who created an artwork titled TONGVALAND in 2019, responds to the Desert X installation Never Forget, which mimics the Hollywood sign with the word “INDIANLAND,” in Palm Springs.
Judge: ‘Forever Marilyn’ can move forward in Palm Springs (The Desert Sun)
While a court ruling has cleared the way for local hotel association PS Resorts to move forward with the installation of the controversial 26-foot-tall Forever Marilyn statue on Museum Way, the group’s chairman said her arrival date has been pushed back due to the ongoing legal proceedings.
PS human rights panel urges removal of Frank Bogert statue from city hall (The Desert Sun)
Citing Frank Bogert’s involvement with the forced ouster of families of color from tribal land known as Section 14, the Palm Springs Human Rights Commission recommended the removal of a statue depicting the former mayor on horseback from the front of Palm Springs City Hall.
FILM
Palm Springs film festival announces dates for 2022 return (The Desert Sun)
After a yearlong hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Palm Springs International Film Festival has announced the event will return Jan. 6-17, 2022, opening with its star-studded gala and concluding with its popular “Best of Fest.” Festival passes and gala tickets go on sale Aug. 1.
Documentary about life in Coachella Valley screens at Santa Barbara festival (The Desert Sun)
Invisible Valley focuses on social disparities and ecological threats in the Coachella Valley premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. The film follows one farmworker family as they try to save enough money to avoid having to split up to follow the harvest up north.
MUSIC
Hermano Flower Shop mixes blooms and live music (CV Independent)
Inspired by NPR’s Tiny Desk performances, Adrian Romero, co-owner and creative director of the flower shop inside Mojave Flea Trading Post in Palm Springs, says, “This is the perfect place to do it” — that is, host “concerts … to give back to the community and the artists out here.”
Steinway Society’s awards competition held on Zoom (The Desert Sun)
Seventeen young pianists ranging in age from 7 to 18 participated this year in the event, which included master classes and recitals. Ten of the them took home awards of $500 each.
COVID-19
Indoor events can return in California later this month (Los Angeles Times)
California will allow indoor live events to resume with limitations beginning later this month, meaning an imminent return of things like concerts, sports contests and theatrical performances that have long been off-limits on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.
California’s arts institutions will reopen June 15 (won’t they?) (Los Angeles Times)
California officials shocked the performing arts community Tuesday when they announced plans to fully reopen the economy June 15 if certain vaccination and hospitalization benchmarks are met, leaving leaders of theaters, music groups and more scrambling to revisit plans for spring and answer a long list of questions.
