Palm Springs-based actor Udo Kier is getting rave reviews for his leading role in the new film Swan Song. Photo by Chris Stephens, courtesy Magnolia Pictures.
ART
Meet John Cerney, the muralist whose ‘Popsicles’ refreshed Sunny Dunes (CV Independent)
This is the story of a produce worker who took some art classes and met his favorite artist, who inspired him to create and helped him start the new career. Now, his larger-than-life paintings can be found from Palm Springs to Monterey.
Torres Martinez youth create art in Salton Sea-focused summer internship (The Desert Sun)
A new summer internship from the tribe blends cultural artwork and elements of social and climate justice, or, in other words, creates an “artistic response” to an “emergent socioecological catastrophe.”
FILM
Pioneertown Film Festival postponed amid rise in COVID-19 cases (The Desert Sun)
The inaugural festival, which was scheduled for Aug. 27 to 29 in Pioneertown at venues such as the Desert Willow and the Red Dog Saloon, was to feature and celebrate western films and world premiere of The Last Manhunt starring Jason Momoa. The festival’s founder, filmmaker and Pioneertown resident Julian Pinder, said the decision to postpone was made amid a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
Palm Springs-based actor Udo Kier dives into ‘Swan Song’ (The Desert Sun)
He channeled Liberace in his portrayal of Pat, a hairdresser who comes out of retirement to style a former client who died. The reviews for the low-budget film have been “the biggest success” in the German-born actor’s career, he says. NBC News also featured Kier this week.
MUSIC
A one-stop shop, including a performance venue, for musicians (CV Independent)
Throw the Goat frontman Brian “Puke” Parnell has opened Audiowild Studios, a recording studio, rehearsal spot, and performance space, in a former church in Idyllwild.
THEATER
Opinion: Palm Springs should think twice before giving up control of Plaza Theatre (The Desert Sun)
Though we have concerns about what philanthropist and film festival chairman Harold Matzner’s proposal to renovate and lease the theater for 25 years, the city shouldn’t dismiss his plan at this point — in part because he hasn’t put anything in writing yet.
Dezart Performs reveal plans for upcoming season
Dezart Performs artistic director Michael Shaw talks about the upcoming 2021-22 season on Eye on the Desert with Patrick Evans.
IDEAS
Research zeroes in on the instability artists face in L.A. (Los Angeles Magazine)
For Tatiana Vahan, the tension between the economic precarity of many artists’ lives and the enormous capital they generate in L.A., became the subject of a project that is part data investigation, part art project, and part advocacy. Launched and fielded one month before the pandemic began, the L.A. Artist Census provides a snapshot of the economic insecurity felt by a large swath of artists in the city.
Why I’m investing in creative youth (Philanthropy News Digest)
With his Lewis Prize for Music, philanthropist Daniel R. Lewis focuses on efforts to provide universal access to musical learning, creating, and performing opportunities — putting youth music at the forefront of systems change.
