Following its inaugural exhibition in 2020, Desert X AlUla returns for its second edition from Feb. 11 – March 30, 2022, placing visionary contemporary artworks by Saudi and international artists amidst the extraordinary desert landscape of AlUla, a majestic region in north-west Saudi Arabia of natural and creative heritage steeped in a legacy of cross-cultural exchange.
Looking for Art to See While Social Distancing? Here Are 5 Memorable Works at the Latest Edition of Desert X
Among the themes artists are addressing in this year s show are mass migration and climate change.
April 27, 2021
Installation view of Nicholas Galanin s Never Forget. Photo courtesy of Lance Gerber, Nicholas Galanin, and Desert X.
Now in its third edition, Desert X, the outdoor exhibition in the Coachella Valley of California, features 12 site-specific projects by international artists addressing themes of mass immigration, human rights, environmental catastrophe, and more.
The show, which is on view through May 16 and is curated by Neville Wakefield and César García-Alvarez, is free to the public (though some works require free timed tickets, which are available through the Desert X website).
Desert X Artists Dig Beneath the Sandy Surface
Artworks in this year’s biennial, scattered around the Palm Springs area, explore issues of land rights, water supply and more.
Nicholas Galanin’s “Indian Land,” part of the Desert X biennial, greets visitors to Palm Springs near its welcome center and tramway.Credit.Jim Mangan for The New York Times
Published March 12, 2021Updated March 13, 2021
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. The odds were fully stacked against the Desert X biennial taking place this year. Bigger and better-organized destination exhibitions have punted on their plans since the pandemic struck, and even in the best of years, Desert X, which commissions site-specific public art in and around Palm Springs, has a hard time raising money to realize its projects. Its decision two years ago to accept funding from the Saudi Arabian government for a spinoff event caused prominent board members to resign and artists to speak out in protest.