Desert X organizers announce changes to 2027 exhibition
City News Service
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The next chapter of Desert X, the Coachella Valley outdoor art exhibition, will bring new changes to the sixth edition and 10th anniversary in 2027, officials announced today.
The exhibition will take place from Oct. 30, 2027 through May 7, 2028, which will extend its programming through winter and spring.
Organizers said the expansion is part of a new format to embrace the desert’s climate, ecology that will allow artwork to align “with the desert’s natural rhythms” and will change and dissolve in tandem with the land itself.
In addition, Desert X will overlap with numerous of the regions events, including Modernism Week, the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival to land a new generation of people.
“Over the past decade, Desert X has evolved from an idea into a movement,” President and Founder of Desert X Susan Davis said. “Each edition has expanded our reach and deepened our relationships with artists, audiences and communities across the Coachella Valley and the world. As we enter our next decade, the same spirit of thoughtfulness, dialogue and delight that has guided us since our funding, will continue.”
It will be curated by Artistic Director Neville Wakefield and Kaitlin Garcia-Maestas, who both curated the 2022 and 2025 editions.
“Changing the ways in which we experience, see and talk about art is fundamental to Desert X’s mission. Establishing new paradigms also involves evolving our own, and as we prepare for the 2027 exhibition, I’m grateful to Kaitlin Garcia-Maestas for adding continuity to the journey of change,” Wakefield said.
To adapt the new format, Melissa Netecke joined the organization as director of development.
Desert X has presented five exhibitions in the Coachella Valley since its inception in 2017.