The Coachella Valley is about to become a spectacular art gallery for the desert, a by annual event that we look forward to at the Paul Kaplan Group. From March 4 to May 7, the Desert X exhibition will be taking over the desert landscape with a series of contemporary art installations. Desert X is an international, site-specific art exhibition that focuses on the unique desert environment of the Coachella Valley. 

Since 2017, creative art installations have appeared throughout the Coachella Valley among the creosote and desert scrub.  For the few months they remain, they attract hundreds of curious visitors....  then disappear without a trace.

This year’s exhibition examines social and environmental themes with a focus on the changes that give form to a world increasingly shaped by climate crisis, globalism, and the political and economic migrations that follow in their wake.  -  “Contrary to the archetype, a desert is not defined by the absence of water. The desert landscape is formed by the memory of water, "  per the Desert X website, "the artists in the exhibition create instruments of self-awareness that make visible the forces that we exert on the world:  how we design our environments, how we live, the messages we send that reinforce systems that might or might not be beneficial to us."

 This year's installation considers for example, flooding in South Asia while Cailfornia gasps through a drought.  It will feature installations by renowned artists from around the world, who have a reputation for wave-making in the art world. 

Each artist has created a unique piece that speaks to the desert’s beauty and culture. The installations will be spread out over a 30-mile stretch, from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea. Visitors will be able to explore the desert, experiencing the works of art in the context of the natural environment. 

Participating Artists:

Rana Begum, b. 1977, Bangladesh, based in London
Lauren Bon, b. 1962, USA, based in Los Angeles
Gerald Clarke, b. 1967, USA, based in Anza, California
Paloma Contreras Lomas, b. 1991, Mexico, based in Mexico City
Torkwase Dyson, b. 1973, USA, based in Beacon, New York
Mario García Torres, b.1975, Mexico, based in Mexico City
Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin, b. 1987, India, based in London and Delhi and David Soin Tappeser, b.1985, Germany, based in London and Delhi)
Matt Johnson, b. 1978, USA, based in Los Angeles
Tschabalala Self, b. 1990, USA, based in New York
Marina Tabassum, b. 1968, Bangladesh, based in Dhaka
Héctor Zamora, b. 1974, Mexico, based in Mexico City

The beauty of Desert X is its potential to bring contemporary art to larger audiences that wouldn't normally see it.  

The exhibition, which is free and open to all, will be accompanied by a series of in-person and online education and public programs that will engage the local community and expand on the ideas and conversations raised by the artists in their works. Organized with cultural, city and education partners Sunnylands Center & Gardens, Palm Springs Art Museum, Modernism Week, the City of Desert Hot Springs, College of the Desert, Palm Springs Family Center, Temalpakh Farm, Palm Springs Unified School District, Desert Sands Unified School District, and Coachella Valley School District, the free programs include a first curatorial fellowship; artist conversations on imagined landscapes, structures of survival, monuments and memory; workshops with leaders in the fields of architecture, community-led design, design thinking and climate solutions; newly-established Desert X Art Clubs at select schools across the Coachella Valley; student internships; school tours of the exhibition, and community days for audiences of all ages. 

For more information, visit DesertX.org.