Desert X student exhibition opens Friday

Opening on Friday, May 31, at 11:00 AM, the Walter N. Marks Center for the Arts at College of the Desert will host the second Desert X Art Club student exhibition, which will be open to the public for free on Tuesdays through Fridays from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM until Friday, June 7, 2024.

Since its start in our desert in 2017, Desert X has become a major attraction and arts educational resource in the Coachella Valley.

Through the Desert X Art club- a dynamic, cross-disciplinary after school program- K-8 students are given the opportunity to explore public artworks in their communities, meet local artists, and create mixed-media art to amplify their artistic voices.

The exhibition will present artworks and videos created as part of a robust Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) with elementary and middle school students in Desert Sands Unified School District.

“Education has been central to Desert X’s mission since its inception in 2017, and this past school year our Desert X Art Club took place for the first time outside of an exhibition year, setting a blueprint for what will continue as an ongoing arts resource for both students and arts educators,” said Executive Director Jenny Gil. “To date, Desert X has provided 1050 cumulative instruction hours to 2140 students and 50 teachers in the three Coachella Valley Title 1 school districts, With our fifth edition of Desert X opening in March 2025, we will be presenting new site-specific artworks by artists from around the world, which we hope will continue to inspire and empower young, future artists in the Coachella Valley.”