Desert X opens to public Friday

The third edition of the Desert X exhibition opens to the public Friday. It runs through May 16 in the Coachella Valley.

Desert X is an outdoor experience free and open to the public. The art exhibition spans across 40 miles of desert.

The exhibition was originally scheduled to run from February 6 until April 11, but was postponed until "we are out of the lockdown period".

The exhibition explores the desert as a place and an idea, and is curated by Artistic Director Neville Wakefield and Co-curator César García-Alvarez.

“It’s really, I think, about bringing different perspectives of desert culture to the Coachella Valley and being able to see what we have here through the eyes of others,” Wakefield said.

One of the big installations drawing early buzz is the the piece titled "Never Forget" with has an "Indian Land" sign in the style of the classic Hollywood sign. The piece can be found in the area of Highway 111 and Tramview Road in Palm Springs.

“In years past, some of the pieces have been really fabulous and some of them have been really wacky… but it’s always an adventure going to find them,” said Shelley Gordon, a frequent Coachella Valley visitor who was viewing the sign.

Gordon says she’ll be visiting this year’s Desert X exhibition when it’s open to the public, from Friday through mid-May.

“It’s just, the discovery of something really interesting and admiration for people who are so much more creative than I could ever be. I really admire what people are able to do,” she said.

This year marks the third edition of Desert X and one of the first major art events in the United States since the pandemic began.

“We always had conversations about us being part of a broader recovery and part of that includes being able to provide a free outdoor experience, cultural experience, and also our hope is that it’s going to encourage people to be able to come and support local establishments and businesses when they come and visit the exhibition,” said Desert X co-curator Cesar Garcia-Alvarez.

Garcia-Alvarez says compared to past editions, this year’s exhibition is rooted in issues important to people in this community and around the world.. such as social and environmental justice.

Garcia-Alvarez says he hopes the art can spark up conversations.

“My hope is that as people navigate the exhibition, they’re also able to bring their own stories to the show and able to find themselves in some way in some of the artworks and some of the stories that these artists are trying to convey through their work,” he said.

The exhibition is free and there will also be online educational programs about the art.

Check out some of the other installations:

The exhibition map will be available to the public Friday on Desert X's website and mobile app.