New exhibit ‘Curating Canopy: Trees at Sunnylands,’ gives glimpse into estate’s past, present and future
Athena Jreij
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (KESQ) – The rich botanical history of Sunnylands is on full display in their new exhibit, ‘Curating Canopy: Trees at Sunnylands.’
The new exhibit and catalog debuted this Wednesday to the public following their summer break and is a photographic gallery of the estate’s most iconic and storied trees.
“The most exciting thing was when we first brought our interns in to see this, they said they felt like bugs, that they were in the trees and could see all of this. I think our guests will like this. We’ve sort of made things bigger or played with color and we’ve got black and whites and infused color,” Michaeleen Gallagher, the director at Sunnylands Center and Gardens.
Told through the lens of London-based photographer David Loftus, it includes photos of trees that have curated the lush sanctuary Sunnylands offers away from the desert, and the new environmental decisions the estate is making to include more native plants.
“A lot of these trees were installed in the 60s. We had a different water ethic then. We had a different thought of this desert then. So, we thought it was a good thing to talk about these conflicts of sustainability, history and adaptive reuse, and how do historic sites deal with that?” Gallagher said.
All the trees featured in the exhibit are still present at the estate, but Gallagher says they are taking action against water-smart plants.
“If you come to the Center and Gardens it’s all native, arid adapted plants from other countries. One of the things we’ve already done is remove entire rows of tamarisk trees that are historic, that do speak to the historic story here, but they’re trees that we need to start to moving out of Sunnylands,” she said.
It’s a lesson in caring for the desert landscape Gallagher hopes viewers will take home with them.
The ‘Curating Canopy’ exhibit will be open for two years through June 2027. Entry to the public is free Wednesday through Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.