Installation view of Reach for the Sky: Tradition + Inspiration, at Sunnylands Center and Gardens through June 7, 2020. Photo courtesy of Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.

 

ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

Museum exhibition surveys influential designs of Alexander Girard (Palm Springs Life)
Alexander Girard: A Designer’s Universe at Palm Springs Art Museum includes the legendary designer’s textile samples and furnishings, “environmental enrichment panels,” folk art-inspired wooden dolls, and a full-scale replica of the conversation pit he created for Eero Saarinen’s J. Irwin and Xenia Miller House in Columbus, Indiana.

 

ART

Herb Alpert and Hunt carvers meet in soaring Sunnylands exhibition (Palm Springs Life)
The Sunnylands exhibition Reach for the Sky: Tradition + Inspiration, running through June 7, 2020, marries the works of a son and grandson of Henry Hunt with that of trumpeter and visual artist Herb Alpert.

The pros and cons of the art experience economy (The Art Newspaper)
Immersive experiences define the most popular contemporary exhibitions, but where does this leave the commercial art world?

Small galleries assess the benefits of big art fairs (New York Times)
For some, art fairs translate to sales down the road. For others, it’s hard to justify the cost.

 

FILM

Desert Film Society screens indie films all year (Palm Springs Life)
With more than 300 members, the Desert Film Society screens foreign and independent films that are not being shown in commercial theaters, and often follows them with lively discussions with filmmakers.

PS animation festival showcases ‘art in motion’ (Palm Springs Life)
The Palm Springs International Animation Festival, set for Dec. 14–15, presents short- and feature-length films that the event’s founder and director, Brian Hoff, calls “art in motion.”

Ron Oliver: maker of holiday magic (Palm Springs Life)
Writer Maggie Downs met Hallmark moviemaker and Palm Springs resident Ron Oliver at Melvyn’s following the wrap of his latest film, Christmas at the Plaza.

 

LITERARY

Good stories never die (Palm Springs Life)
How J.D. Horn of Palm Springs picked up an old manuscript and became a bestselling author of the Witches of New Orleans trilogy.

 

MUSIC

Local rapper creates ‘provoked poetry’ (The Desert Sun)
Daniel Sullivan was thriving as a hip-hop artist before he was imprisoned for felony assault. Now, the 31-year-old La Quinta rapper known as Provoked has a comeback album, and he’ll release ProvokedPoetry in January.

Interview: desert rocker Jesika von Rabbit (CV Weekly)
With performances this month in at The Reef in Palm Springs and Taylor Junction in Joshua Tree, Jesika von Rabbit talks to CV Weekly about her music, collaboration with Jason Nutter, and plans for 2020.

Jazzville series recalls Palm Springs old supper club vibe (Palm Springs Life)
A Palm Springs Life article about the old Chi Chi nightclub inspired Barry Martin, aka DJ Baz, and his partner, Mark Alan, to create and produce Jazzville, a Wednesday-night series at Wang’s in the Desert.

Josh Homme encourages desert youth on ‘musical pathway’ (CV Weekly)
After speaking at the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert in Rancho Mirage, the Queens of the Stone Age front man and guitarist was moved by a performance by Tiffany Campbell, an alum of Academy of Music Performance.

 

THEATER AND STAGE

A month of live theater in the Coachella Valley (The Desert Sun)
The Desert Sun previews a month of live theater and musicals, from The King and I and Christmas With the Crawfords to Disney’s Mary Poppins and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Timely topics run through Dezart Performs productions (Palm Springs Life)
Michael Shaw, artistic director of Dezart Performs, discusses the upcoming season and plans for the Palm Springs theater company.

Desert Rose Playhouse celebrates ‘Christmas With the Crawfords’ (CV Independent)
The fun holiday romp — a 1944 Christmas Eve live radio broadcast from the home of Joan Crawford — returns to the Rancho Mirage stage, and the set design is as superb as the action.