Post-Tour to the Desert
Post-Conference Tour to the Desert
9-10 December
The Post-Conference tour to Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, and Joshua Tree in the High Desert —a two-hour drive from downtown LA—will give conference participants an opportunity to experience the unique desert landscape of Southern California as well as ruminate on our place on earth in relationship to extreme climate conditions and delicate ecosystems.
Our tour will kick off with a preview of a Desert X installation at Sunnylands Center & Gardens where visitors will enjoy a boxed lunch in the gardens. The visit will continue with a private visit to Palm Springs Art Museum including their PST ART exhibition, and the iconic modernist architect Albert Frey’s Aluminaire House.
Special tours of A-Z West, a compound and artwork by Andrea Zittel, stewarded by the nonprofit High Desert Test Sites. Welcome and tours of the property, artworks, studios, and residency spaces, led by Executive Director aryn kresol and HDTS staff, followed by lunch.
The visit involves walking outside on unshaded dirt paths. Comfortable walking shoes, a hat, and a water bottle are highly recommended.
A-Z West is both a place and it is an artwork by Andrea Zittel. Located on over eighty acres in the California high desert next to Joshua Tree National Park, the compound was conceptualized as an evolving testing ground for living—a place in which spaces, objects, and acts of living would all intertwine into an ongoing investigation into what it means to exist and participate in our culture today.
Over the two days, conference-goers will acquire extraordinary insight into the prospering artistic communities and projects in the desert.
The post-conference tour to the desert is made possible through the support of Desert X, Sunnylands Center & Gardens, High Desert Test Sites, Visit Greater Palm Springs, and Palm Spring Art Museum.
→ The pick-up point for participants will be the hotels recommended by CIMAM (Omni, CitizenM, Freehand). Departure time will be at 8:00 am on Monday 9th and return time will be at 8:00 pm on Tuesday 10th at the same hotels (times and dropping point could vary in the coming months).
About Palm Springs Art Museum
Palm Springs Art Museum has a long tradition as the cultural hub of Southern California’s Coachella Valley. Established in 1938, the same year the City of Palm Springs was incorporated, the museum has garnered a reputation for the quality of its collections, exhibitions, education, and events. Palm Springs Art Museum's permanent collection includes more than 16,000 objects with an emphasis on modern and contemporary art, architecture and design, and art of the West in the Americas. The physical space of the museum includes a main building, designed by architect E. Stewart Williams, in the heart of downtown Palm Springs, as well as the other architectural gems: the Frey House II, the Aluminaire House, and the Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion situated in a historically significant modernist building in downtown Palm Springs.
About High Desert Test Sites
High Desert Test Sites is a platform for art and experiences that enable us to step outside everyday life and envision new possibilities. The organization is based at A-Z West—Andrea Zittel’s 80-acre compound and artwork adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park—where it brings together artists, writers, and thinkers to create projects that engage the desert and its communities. Since its founding in 2002, HDTS has hosted more than 500 artists from near and far, 12 expansive site-specific programs, and 25 solo projects. Explore more at hdts.site.
About Sunnylands Center & Gardens
Sunnylands Center & Gardens, in Rancho Mirage, California, serves as the public access point to the historic, 200-acre estate of Ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg. Opened in 2012, the Center & Gardens offers more than a mile of walking trails among nine acres of serene desert gardens. Programs educate the public about the history of Sunnylands, its architecture, art collections, cultural significance, and sustainable practices. The Sunnylands estate, completed in 1966, features a nine-hole golf course and 25,000-square-foot home by architect A. Quincy Jones. The Annenbergs frequently hosted U.S. presidents, royalty, international political figures, and cultural and entertainment icons on the estate. For more information, visit https://sunnylands.org/
About Desert X
Desert X is produced by The Desert Biennial, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in California in 2015, conceived to produce recurring international contemporary art exhibitions that activate desert locations through site-specific installations by acclaimed international artists. Its guiding purposes and principles include presenting public exhibitions of art that respond meaningfully to the conditions of desert locations, the environment and Indigenous communities; promoting cultural exchange and education programs that foster dialogue and understanding among cultures and communities about shared artistic, historical, and societal issues; and providing an accessible platform for artists from around the world to address ecological, cultural, spiritual, and other existential themes. For more information, visit https://desertx.org/
About Visit Greater Palm Springs
Greater Palm Springs is Southern California’s desert oasis, with nine cities—Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella—each offering its own blend of experiences. And with natural hot mineral springs, lush palm groves, over 100 golf courses, world-class events, and more than 300 days of sunshine annually, Greater Palm Springs offers an escape from the ordinary with its unique combination of adventure, inspiration, and relaxation. In Greater Palm Springs, the choices are as endless as our blue skies. Offering a celebrated art and culture scene, Greater Palm Springs draws visitors from around the globe with year-round happenings, such as the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Desert X, Modernism Week, the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Stagecoach Festival, Greater Palm Springs Pride, and a host of food festivals offering days of dining and tastings.
Learn more at www.visitgreaterpalmsprings.com
The fee to attend the post-conference tour is 540,00 € per participant, and it includes:
- Two-way transportation from Los Angeles to Palm Springs by coach from 9th to 10th December.
- Accommodation, 1 night in Palm Springs at ACE HOTEL PALM SPRINGS (check-in 9th / check-out 10th).
- Lunches, dinners, and refreshment breaks as indicated in the program.
- Transportation and access to organized visits.