Just Outside Joshua Tree, This Art Fair Set In A Desert Motel Is Building Something You Can't Get In L.a.

Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh is headlining a much-anticipated Saturday nighttime arena successful Pioneertown. But this isn’t a euphony festival. It’s an creation fair.

Now successful its 5th year, nan High Desert Art Fair transforms nan rooms of nan historical Pioneertown Motel into accumulation spaces for 20 galleries and publishers, while expanding into a broader operation of programming — thing akin to a mini Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. This year’s version includes an opening nighttime statement pinch a DJ group by thoroughfare creator Shepard Fairey, sheet discussions, guided meditation and moreover a sound bath.

Mothersbaugh’s performance, conscionable weeks earlier Devo is group to play astatine nan existent Coachella, captures nan weekend’s experimental tone: When he takes nan shape astatine nan iconic honky-tonk roadhouse Pappy & Harriet’s, he won’t beryllium joined by his band. Instead, he’ll execute pinch “The General,” described arsenic “part instrument, portion sculpture.”

The arena reflects nan ambitions of its founders — seasoned Los Angeles creation trader Nicholas Fahey and creator head Candice Lawler — who launched nan adjacent successful 2019, hoping to cement nan precocious desert’s increasing position arsenic a taste destination.

Fahey’s imagination is unapologetically big: He wants nan region to go nan “Marfa aliases nan Hamptons of L.A.” — able enclaves wherever creation and tourism converge. Long term, nan brace dream nan adjacent will grow beyond ocular creation to see movie and different media, becoming a imperishable fixture connected nan godforsaken arts almanac alongside events for illustration Modernism Week and Desert X.

Rooms astatine nan Pioneertown Motel are temporarily transformed into assemblage spaces during nan High Desert Art Fair, now successful its 5th twelvemonth extracurricular Joshua Tree.

(High Desert Art Fair)

The fair’s maturation has amazed moreover its organizers. What began pinch astir 50 group gathered successful Lawler’s surviving room is expected to tie betwixt 2,000 and 3,000 visitors per time this year.

“I thought we’d beryllium this size 5 years [from now],” Lawler said during a caller question and reply astatine Fahey/Klein Gallery, nan La Brea Avenue abstraction Fahey’s family has operated for 4 decades. The fair’s emergence mirrors a broader displacement successful nan precocious desert, which successful caller years has attracted not only artists and musicians but a wider influx of caller residents — including those who arrived during nan pandemic, drawn arsenic overmuch by manner arsenic by creativity. Fairey was among them.

“The precocious godforsaken has a fascinating blend of hippie and libertarian sensibilities,” he wrote successful an email. “It’s much affordable [than L.A.] and a peaceful, inspiring situation for imaginative work.”

The area has agelong drawn artists seeking abstraction and solitude. Twentieth period creator Agnes Pelton created sparkling abstractions successful adjacent Cathedral City, while assemblage creator Noah Purifoy spent nan last decade of his life building nan Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum of Assemblage Art successful Joshua Tree.

For Fahey and Lawler, nan adjacent emerged from years spent persuading friends and collectors to sojourn nan region. Both purchased 2nd homes successful nan godforsaken successful nan mid-2010s and recovered themselves often extolling what Lawler calls nan “magic of nan desert.”

“We needed to springiness them a logic to travel here,” Fahey said.

The arena paused for a fewer years because of COVID-19. When it returned successful 2023, it occupied respective Airbnbs earlier settling into its existent location astatine nan Pioneertown Motel.

Opened successful 1946 by Roy Rogers and Gene Autry arsenic portion of a occidental movie group town, nan motel is now owned by brothers Mike and Matt French. Art will beryllium hung connected nan walls of nan “cowboy core” rooms named aft stars including Autry, Rogers and Dale Evans. Exhibitors often region nan western-style furnishings to make room for nan art.

The main agency astatine nan Pioneertown Motel, which is opening its doors to nan High Desert Art Fair for a three-day arena featuring a capacity by Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh and a DJ group by thoroughfare creator Shepard Fairey.

(High Desert Art Fair)

This year’s exhibitors thin toward younger Los Angeles galleries, including Megan Mulrooney, John Doe Gallery, Gross! Gallery and curatorial level Wienholt Projects, alongside Mothersbaugh’s MutMuz Gallery and section organizations specified arsenic BoxoPROJECTS and Yucca Valley Material Lab.

The programming extends good beyond nan assemblage rooms. Panels connected collecting and arts institutions successful nan godforsaken will characteristic speakers including Jenny Gil, executive head of Desert X, nan biennial accumulation of large-scale artworks installed crossed nan Coachella Valley and successful AlUla, Saudi Arabia.

VIP tours will return visitors to notable useful of creation and architecture successful nan region, including Rachel Whiteread’s “Ghost Cabins” and designer Arata Isozaki’s “Desert Rooms,” some awesome installations. A use meal will support Andrea Zittel’s High Desert Test Sites, an artist-run level offering residencies, housed connected her 80-acre compound. Fairey and Mothersbaugh will look successful an creator talk Saturday.

“I deliberation it adds a very absorbing furniture to creating a destination,” Gil said of nan fair.

Gallerist Mulrooney, who is participating for nan first time, summed up nan event’s appeal. “They’re creating a taste experience,” she said. “You tin dip a toed into creation aliases music, do yoga aliases spell to Palm Springs.”

Ryan Schneider moved from New York to Joshua Tree pinch his woman successful 2015. The determination to relocate spurred a displacement successful his believe from coating to sculpture.

He has shown his activity successful galleries successful Los Angeles, New York and Copenhagen, but nan High Desert Art Fair marks nan first clip he has exhibited successful his adopted hometown.

“I dream [the fair] tin supply an replacement wherever section artists tin show alongside much established ones,” said Schneider, who will beryllium speaking connected nan panel, “Artists successful nan Desert,” arsenic good arsenic manning a room astatine nan adjacent pinch creator Ry Rocklen featuring nan activity of high-desert artists.

A portion of creation is installed successful a room astatine nan Pioneertown Motel during nan High Desert Art Fair, which is returning to nan area for its 5th year.

(High Desert Art Fair)

For Heidi Schwegler, co-founder of Yucca Valley Material Lab — a nonprofit residency and imaginative compound — nan adjacent has already proved its value.

Last year, Fahey offered nan statement a complimentary room to show work. “It was incredible,” she said, noting that astir 40 group filled nan abstraction continuously passim nan fair. This year, nan statement returns arsenic a paying exhibitor.

BoxoPROJECTS laminitis Bernard Leibov moved to Joshua Tree successful 2012 — good earlier spot values changeable up successful nan area — and runs creator residencies arsenic good arsenic nan Joshua Treenial, a programme of installations, performances and organization events.

Leibov, who antecedently was lawman head of nan Judd Foundation, welcomes nan visibility nan adjacent brings to nan region. But he cautions against easy comparisons casting nan precocious godforsaken arsenic nan adjacent Marfa — nan mini Texas municipality that minimalist creator Donald Judd helped toggle shape into a world arts destination.

A coating connected nan wall of nan Pioneertown Motel during nan High Desert Art Fair, which is bigger than ever — drafting thousands of visitors to nan mini municipality adjacent Joshua Tree.

(High Desert Art Fair)

Joshua Tree remains “more independent,” he said, successful portion because it is an unincorporated community. At nan aforesaid time, rising existent property prices person made affordable workplace abstraction harder to find.

Leibov believes nan added vulnerability nan adjacent provides is precisely what nan region needs, but hopes nan area tin clasp its affordable, underground ethos.

“The area is lacking successful master platforms for superior artists,” he said. “Commerce is not a soiled [word] successful nan creation world.”

That operation of creator experimentation and economical opportunity is precisely what Fahey and Lawler opportunity nan adjacent is meant to support.

The godforsaken has ever drawn group looking for space, inspiration and escape. The adjacent is simply a stake that immoderate draws artists to this scenery tin prolong thing larger without consuming it.

“If we didn’t do it, personification would,” Fahey said.

The desert, it seems, is nary longer waiting.