Judy Chicago will present a “smoke sculpture” for Desert X in April. © JUDY CHICAGO/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK; PHOTO © DONALD WOODMAN/ARS, NEW YORK   Stimulus for the arts, a smoke sculpture for Desert X, and a promise of an “epic” return of live performances from the developer of a new arena in Palm…

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Nancy Baker Cahill’s Revolutions, an augmented reality artwork created for Desert X 2019. The exhibition returns February–April 2021 with a new lineup of artist installations and public programs. Photograph: Lance Gerber /Courtesy Desert X   Hello from the California Desert Arts Council. The headlines have been big and bold over the past month. Let’s get right…

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Sunnylands Center & Gardens in Rancho Mirage. Courtesy and copyright The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.   Sunnylands Center & Gardens became the latest Coachella Valley cultural institution to reopen to the public — with limited access and hours and stringent safety protocols — since the pandemic shutdown began last March. Many other venues and…

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The Aluminaire House, a prototype structure designed in 1931 by Albert Frey and A. Lawrence Kocher, will be installed at Palm Springs Art Museum.   ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN Aluminaire House finds home in Palm Springs (The Desert Sun) The 1931 prototype residence designed by Albert Frey and A. Lawrence Kocher will be installed in 2021 in…

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Watts-based artist Mister Alek from Watts spray painted a mural in memory of George Floyd on Indian Canyon Drive just north of Amado Road. Photograph courtesy Palm Springs Public Arts Commission.   COVID RESPONSE Your Coachella Valley culture fix is here (Palm Springs Life)During the COVID-19 shutdown, Coachella Valley artists and arts organizations are reaching…

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The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument welcomes amateur and professional photographers to participate in a photo contest to mark its 20th anniversary. Photograph by Tom Brewster/courtesy Palm Springs Life and Friends of the Desert Mountains   COVID-19 Arts organizations invited to apply for COVID-19 relief funds (WESTAF)The Western States Arts Federation’s WESTAF…

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DANCE Choreography festival returns to McCallum Theatre (Uken Report) This one-of-a-kind festival, scheduled for Nov. 10 and Sunday Nov. 11, promotes dance as an art form by creating a venue for emerging and established choreographers and developing new dance audiences. IDEAS & ISSUES Should artists be fundraisers? (Barry’s Blog) A popular blogger suggests that arts…

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New work by Coachella artist Carlos Ramirez, who  opened his first solo exhibition, The Killing of a Ghost, earlier this year at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New Jersey.   ART & DESIGN Catching up with Carlos Ramirez (Coachella Magazine) After many years of collaborating as part of The Date Farmers, artist Carlos Ramirez is forging…

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ARTS ISSUES & MANAGEMENT Should museums have free admission? (Arts Journal) Michael Rushton, who teaches arts administration at Indiana University and edits the Journal of Cultural Economics, attempts to answer the question. Trump proposes elimination of NEA (California Desert Arts Council) The Trump Administration released its 2019 budget proposal, which seeks to eliminate the National…

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