A Super Bloom of Color and Art Opens March 31 – April 1 & 2
Affirming the Coachella Valley’s art scene as an international destination for culture and entertainment, 200 juried artists from more than 25 countries around the world will attract over 10,000 visitors to the 15th annual Indian Wells Arts Festival, March 31 through April 1 and 2 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Artisans from Russia, France, Japan, Colombia, Italy, Nigeria, Peru, Britain and beyond will be featured alongside acclaimed artists from 20 states across the nation.
A headlining event for the Desert’s arts season, the Festival is a Spring super bloom of color and art with three days of artist exhibitions and demonstrations, fun and engaging activities for enthusiasts of all ages, live music entertainment, and foodies’ delights with a Saturday and Sunday “Eggs + Champagne in The Garden” brunch menu till noon along with the chic RumChata and Champagne Circle bars.
Art lovers will revel in the opportunity to explore and collect works by exciting new artists, local art legends, and more than 40 highly lauded and established artists with accolades from major museums such as the Smithsonian, de Young Fine Arts Museum, Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, the San Diego Museum of Art, Palm Springs Art Museum and the Kyoto Museum in Japan. Thousands of one-of-kind works in 28 mediums and categories ranging from painting, sculpture, jewelry, wearable-art fashion, photography, ceramics and more will be presented for festivalgoers to purchase directly from the artists.
In addition to the relaxed and leisurely setting of the Indian Wells Arts Festival where tree-lined paths are adorned with artists displaying their masterful works, festivalgoers will be treated to the ultimate art experience with opportunities to create art themselves. Old Town Artisan Studio will be on-site with their mobile studio inviting guests to sit behind the pottery wheel and transform clay into sculpture; CREATE Center for the Arts – Palm Desert will host a printmaking workshop, teaching the centuries-old technique with a modern flair; and, Oregon-based artist Dusty Kinman will lead a kid’s palette-knife painting class. Artist demonstrations will be found throughout the festival grounds, including glass-blowing with Los Angeles-based artist Bruce Freund and his portable furnace, and textile-weaving using a 2000-year old Zapotec Indian technique with Oaxacan artist Antonio Mendoza on his great-grandfather’s wooden pedal loom.
Chosen as the 2017 Festival’s Featured and Commemorative Print artist is David Palmer, a Los Angeles-based painter whose pop art infused with Italian Renaissance style is catapulting his rising star on the art scene with acclaim from critics and collectors alike. Commissioned to create an original painting that represents both the event’s picturesque setting and high caliber of art, Palmer composed “Desert Dreaming,” a vividly stunning 48 x 36-inch acrylic painting inspired by the extraordinary beauty unexpectedly found in the Coachella Valley’s claim of the Sonoran Desert. A showpiece among Palmer’s collection, “Desert Dreaming” embodies the essence of his signature aesthetic with layers of bright underlying colors reminiscent of aging frescoes coalesced with Old Masters’ detail and refinement.
“We were thrilled to have David create this year’s commemorative print,” says Indian Wells Arts Festival producer, Dianne Funk. “I gasped when I first saw Desert Dreaming,” she adds about the original painting which will be available for sale at the Festival. “With its brilliant colors and exacting detail, it perfectly captures our beautiful desert and is sure to be one of our most sought-after prints.”
The top 100 nationally-ranked art show will also feature its Gourmet MarketPlace with original production artisan fare such as organic bath and body confections to epicurean oils and vinegars. The Festival incorporates a number of local charities as Festival Partners and donates to their art scholarship funds. Participating organizations in 2017 include the Coachella Valley Youth Ensemble Program; Cathedral City High School’s DATA Digital Imaging, an Apple Distinguished Program; PSUSD’s Lady Lead program; SafeHouse of the Desert; and Venus Studios Art Supply.
Presented by the City of Indian Wells, the 15th annual Indian Wells Arts Festival, is hosted by the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and held on the venue’s Grass Concourse (Enter from Washington Street at Via Sevilla, between Highway 111 and Fred Waring Drive, Indian Wells, California), opens Friday, March 31 through Saturday and Sunday, April 1-2, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Gates close at 4:00). Children are free to the event, adults $13. Free parking and valet available. For more information visit, www.IndianWellsArtsFestival.com.
