Desert X Art Exhibition to Return to the Desert in 2019

Palm Springs, CA

Desert X, a Coachella Valley-based art exhibition that made the desert its canvas earlier this year, will return on Feb. 9, 2019, and run through the end of April of that year, it was announced Monday.

Neville Wakefield, who served as artistic director on the first Desert X, will be back for the second iteration. Organizers said additions to the team include Executive Director Jenny Gil, who was most recently with Faena Art in Miami, and curators Amanda Hunt, director of Education and Public Programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and Matthew Schum, a Los Angeles- based independent writer and curator.

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Artists for the 2019 exhibition have not yet been announced. "The inaugural Desert X was both an honor to work on and an extraordinary journey into the unknown with some of the most significant artists working today. I could not have anticipated the overwhelming response to the exhibition, and the lure of the desert and its endless possibilities continue to inspire me," Wakefield said.

"I want to delve even further into its potential and (co-curators) Amanda (Hunt) and Matthew (Schum) bring valuable experience and a deep understanding and passion for presenting work in response to landscape, place and larger social and environmental issues."

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The inaugural Desert X drew more than 200,000 visitors during its run, with 16 valleywide, "site-specific" exhibits on display from as far west as the Whitewater Preserve to as far east as Indio, according to organizers.

Susan Davis, president of the Desert X Board of Directors and Sunnylands’ editorial director, said: "The board and I are thrilled Neville Wakefield is continuing as our artistic director. His inspired vision and sincere empathy for the desert and the community are qualities we wanted to reengage for 2019. With the addition of Jenny Gil, who brings enormous expertise and international knowledge to the organization, and with the talents of Amanda Hunt and Matthew Schum, we have a team in place that will enrich and broaden the next Desert X and possibly make it an even larger success than our first." For more information, visit https://www.desertx.org .