Joshua Tree Gateway Art & Culture Guide

Page 1

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T Chuck Caplinger, Summer Rainshower, Oil on Canval

G AT E W AY

2018

1

MORONGO VALLEY. YUCCA VALLEY. JOSHUA TREE. TWENTYNINE PALMS.

PIONEERTOWN. LANDERS. WONDER VALLEY.

Joshua Tree Gateway Arts & Culture


2

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M


A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

3


TABLE OF CONTENTS

6 10 12 14 18 20 22 page 28 page

4

A NEW BOHEMIA: Putting the Morongo Basin on the Artistic Map

page

Cultural Hotspots: JOSHUA TREE art tour

page

Galleries & Museums

page

Music Venues

page

Hi-Desert Cultural Center: Greater Joshua Tree’s Center of Arts & Culture

page

Theatre 29: from 1999 to 2017

page

Eat/Shop/Play Calendar

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M


JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Sponsors

PLATINUM

GOLD

Delos Van Earl The “TEKA” Series www.DelosVanEarlStudios.com

SILVER

Hwy 62 Open Studios Art Tour

October 13th, 14th, 20th & 21st Artist #15 on the tour 55666-A Yucca Trail, Yucca Valley, CA 92284 760-333-2271 | www.delosvanearlstudios.com | delosvanearl@aol.com

FRIENDS OF THE ARTS

Desert Art Studio

Chuck Caplinger, Oils on Canvas www.desertartstudio.com chuck@desertartstudio.com 760.221.7703

Ed Keesling Clayworks Ed Keesling, Artist Potter www.edsclayworks.com ededkeesling@aol.com 760.365.8193

Hawk’s Landing Golf Club 55100 Martinez Trail www.hawkslandinggolf.com, 760.365.0033 Integratron

Sound baths, rentals, events www.integratron.conm integratron@gmail.com 760.364.3126

Janis R Commentz

Acrylics - Oils www.janiscommentz.com janis@janiscommentz.com 760.365.4955

Jennifer Kane

Artist, Arts Advocate www.jennykaneart.com jk@jennykaneart.com 310.749.8948

Desert Rust Designs

Karan Murphy Multi-Media/Assemblage www.desertrustdesigns.com karanmurphy@yahoo.com 714.745.8905

Pappy & Harriet’s

Pioneertown Palace 53688 Pioneertown Rd www.pappyandharriets.com 760.365.5956 A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

5


JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Morongo Basin Art History

A NEW BOHEMIA Putting the Morongo Basin on the Artistic Map

B

TOP: Charleton Adobe where 29 Palms Art Gallery first opened in 1956. BOTTOM: John Hilton and horse Duke at stable used as an art gallery, (Flying W Ranch), 29 Palms, March 1952. Courtesy 29P Historical Society. 6

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

y the middle of the last century, artists had begun to discover the inspiring landscape of the Morongo Basin and what is now Joshua Tree National Park. It was the oldest organization of its kind in the area—the Twentynine Palms Artists’ Guild—that pulled the efforts of those pioneers together in 1951 and 1952. One of its earliest members, and its first president as well, was desert landscape painter John Hilton. Other founding members were Merritt Boyer, Evelyn Hutchinson, Michael Malloy, Kirk Martin, Vera Martin, Edna Onderdonk and Fritiof Perssons. At first the Guild artists displayed their work in a variety of locations, from the Bob Lear Building on the highway in downtown Twentynine Palms to Hilton’s Flying W Stables at Campbell Ranch. In 1956, Guild members leased the Charlton Adobe next to 29 Palms Inn and opened the first 29 Palms Art Gallery, where they hosted regular art shows, receptions, and artist demonstrations for several years. The Guild obtained its permanent home in 1963, when the board purchased a nearby adobe at the Oasis of Mara, once the home of Western novelist Tom Hopkins, and transformed it into the new 29 Palms Art Gallery. The gallery opened its doors


that fall for the 1963-64 exhibition season and began hosting monthly art shows, receptions, artist paint-outs, workshops and other events. During the 1960s, the Guild’s new gallery became a prominent artistic and social venue for residents, local and visiting artists, and celebrities, who attended its various functions. Among the last category were actor James Cagney, LA Times columnist Ed Ainsworth and humorist Will Rogers Jr. Exhibiting artists of the era ranged from locals Verne Gillespie and Jean Crowl to Phyllis Skelton (wife of Red Skelton), watercolorist Robert E. Wood, cowboy artist Bill Bender, and master portrait painter Leslie B. DeMille (a relative of movie producer Cecil B. DeMille). These visiting artists often taught workshops at the gallery as well. The Guild’s success inspired the birth of other art groups, events and venues throughout the Morongo Basin. Famous wildflower artist Henry Mockel and his wife, Beverly, opened Pioneer Art Gallery (later Mockel Art Gallery) in the Plaza in Twentynine Palms in 1961. Sidewalk art shows featuring various desert artists were staged outside Helen Bagley’s Shop next to Bagley Market in the Plaza in the early 1960s. On the far west end of the valley, the Morongo Valley Art Colony began in 1964 with a group of artists exhibiting under trees, on sidewalks and in little shops until they secured a gallery home in the Covington Park Community Service Building in 1966. Later that decade, a group called the Artists of the Hi-Desert Playhouse Guild donated funds from the sales of their work to support the burgeoning theater performances in Joshua Tree. (The artists regrouped in 1976 as the Chaparral Artists). New annual art events were created, and an ongoing Twentynine Palms Artists’ Workshop offering exhibits and classes by members of the Twentynine Palms Artists’ Guild was established in the 1970s in the Plaza. Visiting an artist’s studio was a rare experience for most people in those days, so the Guild arranged with a handful of individuals to welcome

TOP LEFT: John Hilton, Superstition Spring TOP RIGHT: James Cagney sketching John Hilton. ABOVE: Henry R Mockel, Campanulate Phacelia BELOW: Merritt Boyer, Last Supper

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

7


the public into their workplaces once a year. The first such event took place on April 7, 1968, with five artists participating. Among them were Nell Haverman, who displayed her oil paintings and her arts and crafts projects. Eclectic artist and antiques collector Jean Crowl opened her Pill Hill studio behind Doc Crowl’s animal hospital on what’s now known as Canyon Road. (The “Pill Hill Population 2” sign still stands today!) William Peterson coordinated the “Westward Ho” theme at the gallery where the tour began and demonstrated his desert landscape painting techniques for the attendees. Other participants included Verne Gillespie and Madlyne Murray-Seales. Four artists took part in the 1970 tour, with Gil and Dorothy Maxwell joining Gillespie and Murray-Seales. The Maxwells brought in Native American treasures and artworks from New Mexico, while Gillespie and Murray-Seales exhibited a large number of oil paintings. With the first wave of gas shortages in 1975, the 8th annual Palm Sunday Studio Tour (as the event had become known) took place at the 29 Palms Art Gallery. That year fifteen artists set up displays and demonstrations. The next 4 years followed a similar format, with up to 20 artists presenting their work. But the last Palm Sunday Studio Tour took place in 1980. Now fast forward 21 years to 2001 and to what’s now been reincarnated as the Highway 62 Open Studio Art Tour, with mixed media artist Lucia Grossberger-Morales arranging with 24 fellow artists to open their homes and studios to visitors. Local artist Chuck Caplinger, who had spearheaded the successful 2000 Global Mural Conference in Twentynine Palms, was heralding the benefits of art and tourism in the basin at the same time, but he felt something was missing. One afternoon he received a call from musician and producer Michael Callan, who suggested that what the basin needed was an arts organization that included all artistic forms and disciplines—two- and

8

Audrey Gillick, Century Plant

Jean Crowl, West from Lost Horse

three-dimensional art, music, theater and dance. The two invited Audrey and Owen Gillick, Spelman Evans-Downer and Vickie Waite to join them at their first meeting, where they agreed to start a nonprofit called the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council. They were soon joined by Kit Brooks, Cathy Svehla and Linda Shrader, and in 2002 they received their nonprofit status and began planning a basin-wide arts festival. This was a 10day event during which the studio tours would take place on the weekends, with theater, dance and musical performances rounding out the week. More than 40 artists signed up for the tour portion of the festival, and Huell Howser hosted the opening night gala at his home in Twentynine Palms. By 2005 the event was drawing some 70 artists. The gorgeous Morongo Basin had been dubbed the New Bohemia, and the area saw artists of all disciplines migrating to the spot to settle permanently and establish studios. Some 90 artists took part in 2011, and in 2014 visitors had to choose among 140 artists in 90 studios. This year there are more than 150 participants in the Highway 62 Open Studio Art Tour, with locations in Morongo Valley, Wonder Valley and all points in between. By now the entire Morongo Basin, including Pioneertown, Landers and Flamingo Heights, has become an artists’ playground. As you’re visiting the studios, keep in mind that many of the participants are open to creating something special just for you. If you find artists whose work makes you smile or inspires you, consider commissioning them to create a unique piece for you or as a gift for Kirk Martin, Adios, Block Print someone you care for. And above all, enjoy your experience!

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M


EXPERIENCE ART Joshua Tree National Park ART EXPOSITION annually in September

NIGHT SKY FESTIVAL

annually in November

ARTISTS’ TEA Sundays in spring & fall

29 Palms Art Gallery showcases featured artists and artist guild members in monthly exhibitions at its historic adobe located at the Oasis of Mara in Twentynine Palms. An annual event in September, the Gallery is home to the JTNP Art Exposition, a juried exhibition of international artworks that are of or inspired by Joshua Tree National Park. These non-profit arts organizations offer a variety of special art events, art classes, and artist and art patron gatherings. For more on these organizations, visit www.jtnparts.org and www.29palmsartgallery.com.

details at: www.JTNParts.org

ARTISTS’ GUILD | GALLERY | GIFT SHOP | ART CLASSES PRESENTING THE BEST OF THE HI-DESERT FOR OVER 65 YEARS 74055 Cottonwood Drive | Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 | 760.367.7819 29artgallery@gmail.com | www.29palmsartgallery.com

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

9


JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Cultural Hotspots

JOSHUA TREE art tour (part one: reimagined homestead cabins) written by Bernard Leibov photographed by Andrew Barber

The evocative Krblin Jihn Kabin was the first historic site in the vast Kcymaerxthaere project created by “geographer at large” Eames Demetrios. The grandson of famed designers Ray and Charles Eames, Demetrios has imagined a multiplicity of parallel universes containing individual histories in differing time schemas. Kcymaerxthaere documents those places and moments in space-time in which the alternate universes and our linear, time-based reality intersect. In this alternate telling, the Kabin was essentially a POW cell at a time when two factions of a fundamentalist religion went to war over the true locations of sacred sites. Prisoners of the winning tribe were banished to such structures and overseen by “homestedlers.” The language used throughout reflects the OTGON (One True God’s Only Nation) belief that the letters “c” and “o” were obscene and therefore not to be used. The story of the Kabin seemed more otherworldly when I first encountered it in 2005 than it does in the current sociopolitical climate. The Kcymaerxthaere site was unveiled in October 2004 as one of the High Desert Test sites (look for Andrea Zittel’s Planar Pavilions in the January/February issue of Art Patron Magazine). The grounds contain a variety of interesting material, including the entire history of the site in “linear” English and the gospel of Matthew in “Jihn Wranglikan.” Demetrios’s project is reminiscent of Martin Kippenberger’s vast underground network with its two aboveground portals, one on the Greek island of Syros and one in Dawson City, Canada. Both projects encourage us to widen our perspective and to consider new possibilities beyond our limited, everyday world of perceptions—activities well worth the effort! www.kcymaerxthaere.com DIRECTIONS: Take Highway 62 to Sunburst Avenue, turn north on Sunburst, turn right onto Crestview and follow it to the end of the paved road. Then turn right again onto the dirt road and you will see the Kabin about 100 feet away on the left. 10

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M


Jetsonorama is the street art nom de plume

of artist Chip Thomas, who is based in the Navajo Nation near Monument Valley. His work is inspired by JR, the Frenchman whose large-scale public photographic interventions have been recognized by a TED Prize. Thomas’s work can be seen throughout the Monument Valley area as a series of portraits of Navajo activists and their families pasted on the sides of abandoned buildings, water towers and other structures. He has also been commissioned to make works throughout the rest of the country. Through Diane Best, a wonderful artist dedicated to the land, I met Chip at his home some years ago and invited him to be part of the Joshua Treenial, a weekend of installations and performances that I produce intermittently with my collaborator KJ Baysa. The 2015 edition of the Treenial was titled Event Horizon and considered the speed at which we are moving toward a potential environmental black hole. Thomas came to the area to research the pressing issues that we are facing and to find a location. Through Best, local artisanal builder Blake Simpson offered an abandoned homesteader cabin and the stage was set. Thomas decided to focus on two environmental issues: the possible demise of the local Joshua tree population due to climate change, and the increasingly urgent toxic disaster unfolding at the Salton Sea. He photographed both phenomena extensively and then produced large scale images of the trees in the National Park and the skeletons of tilapia to be found all along the shores of the Salton Sea. Thomas returned in April 2015 to install the works by pasting them on the front and back of the remaining wall of the cabin and covering them with an acrylic medium. The image of the trees is seared white and somewhat blurred, presumably a reference to the predicted migration of Joshua trees from the local area to higher elevations to escape the heat effect of climate change. In contrast, the white tilapia skeletons lie very still against the darkened shore, possible harbingers of the deadly toxic cloud that may be released as the waters continue to recede. Chip Thomas brings it all together in a manifesto writ large above the view on the open side of the cabin. www.jetsonorama.net DIRECTIONS: Take Highway 62 to Sunburst Avenue, drive north on Sunburst to Golden, turn right on Golden, and then left on Border. Follow Border to Aberdeen, then turn left back to Sunburst and you’ll see the cabin on the corner. Note that you’ll need to go a short distance on a dirt road and that the cabin is on private property.

Want to see the complete 9 site tour with an interactive map? Visit artpatronmagazine.com NOTE: Rural destinations in Joshua Tree involve poorly marked dirt and sand roads with limited services. If you are not comfortable with these conditions we recommend taking a guided tour.

Bernard Leibov is Founder/Director of BoxoPROJECTS, a residency and programming initiative in Joshua Tree, and co-founder of the Joshua Treenial, a weekend of installations, performance and communitybuilding that celebrates the area. Bernard also gives guided tours of the local cultural highlights through Joshua Tree Cultural Expeditions (jtculturalexpeditions.com). Prior to coming to Joshua Tree in 2011, he was Deputy Director of the Judd Foundation and exhibited artists from Joshua Tree in New York City. A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

11


JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Galleries & Museums

Clockwise from upper left: Elisabeth Pollnow, Sis; Laurel Goddard Thomas, Portrait of a Martini; Frederick Fulmer, Agave Landscape; Gallery 62 Opening Reception; Karan Murphy, Beijing Orange; Glass Outhouse At Gallery; Esther Shaw, Smoke Tree in Bloom; 29 Palms Art Gallery, Clay Folk Show Opposite page: Chuck Caplinger, Rock Art Lizard 12

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M


Galleries & Museums 29 Palms Art Gallery

www.29palmsartgallery.com 760.367.7819

29 Palms Creative Center www.29palmsart.com

Art Colony of Morongo Valley

www.facebook.com/MorongoValleyArtColony

Art Queen Gallery www.sharielf.com

Beauty Bubble Salon and Museum www.facebook.com/BeautyBubble SalonAndMuseum

Chapparal Artists

www.chaparralartists.com

Curate Joshua Tree

www.curatejoshuatree.com

Furstwurld

www.facebook.com/pages/Furstworld/489200284472412

Gallery 62

www.gallery62.org

Glass Outhouse Gallery

www.facebook.com/The-Glass-Outhouse-ArtGallery-317055216531

Simi Dabah Sculptures

Hi Desert Nature Museum

www.simidabahsculptures.com

HWY 62 Open Studio Art Tours

www.facebook.com/Taylorjunction

www. hidesertnaturemuseum.org www.hwy62arttours.org

Joshua Tree Art Gallery (JTAG) www.joshuatreeartgallery.com

Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum www.noahpurifoy.com

Old Schoolhouse Museum www.29palmshistorical.com

Taylor Junction

The Purple Agave Art Gallery at the Cactus Mart www.cactusmart.com

World Famous Crochet Museum www.sharielf.com/museum

Yucca Valley Visual & Performing Arts www.yvarts.org

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

13


JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Music

W

hether you come for the live music, to seek UFOs like Keith Richards, to pay homage at Cap Rock, the granite outcrop where Gram Parsons was cremated, or to follow in the footsteps of Jim Morrison, Donovan, John Lennon and other musicians looking to escape from LA, Joshua Tree is a part of California’s musical heritage and future. Here we have gathered famous and not so famous musical outlets for you to explore.

JOSHUA TREE Beatnik Lounge

www.facebook.com/BeatnikLounge

Harrison House Music and Arts www.louharrisonhouse.org

Hi-Desert Cultural Center www.hidesertculturalcenter.org

Joshua Tree Saloon

www.joshuatreesaloon.com

Joshua Tree Retreat Center www.jtrcc.org

Joshua Tree Music Festival www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com

Furst World

www.facebook.com/pages/Bobby-FurstWurld/361419373998941

Space Cowboy Books

spacecowboybooks.blogspot.com

Bhakti Festival

www.bhaktifest.com

Pantasia- handpan gathering www.paniverse.org 14

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M


A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

15


JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Music, cont’d

LANDERS

Landers Brew Co www.lbrewco.com

MORONGO VALLEY Willie Boy’s

www.willieboysbbq.com

PIONEERTOWN Pappy & Harriet’s

www.pappyandharriets.com

TWENTYNINE PALMS Tortoise Rock Casino

www.tortoiserockcasino.com

Palms Restaurant

www.facebook.com/PalmsRestarant-109407105764539

Bistro Twentynine

www.bistro29palms.com

YUCCA VALLEY Frontier Café

www.cafefrontier.com

Gadi’s Bar & Grill

www.gadisbarandgrill.com

Kokopelli’s Kantina

www.facebook.com/santarosamg

RECORDING STUDIOS & PRODUCTION COMPANIES Rancho De La Luna

www.ranchodelaluna.com

Sunburst Presents

www.facebook.com/pg/Sunburstpresents/ posts 16

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M


A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

17


JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Art & Cultural Center

Hi-Desert Cultural Center Greater Joshua Tree’s Center of Arts & Culture WRITTEN BY JARROD RADNICH PHOTOGRAPHED BY ANNE SHOLTZ

18

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

When an area garners international attention for being a Mecca and new Bohemia for the arts, one has to wonder how a spot of land out in the middle of the Mojave Desert would come to be known as a beacon and ever-alluring source of inspiration for great creative minds—from U2, The Rolling Stones, and Gram Parsons, to Frank Lloyd Wright and Noah Purifoy. Surrounded by the awesome and dramatic landscape of monolithic rock formations adorned with nonpareil Joshua Trees and the oldest plant life in existence, producers, directors, musicians, actors, and artists from Los Angeles and elsewhere began moving in the mid twentieth century to the greater Joshua Tree area to escape the city lifestyle and redirect their creative energies. It is from these individuals that the Hi-Desert Cultural Center, the area’s regional visual and performing arts organization, was born. The vision to create a central organization who’s purpose is to coordinate, foster, educate, and provide opportunities and venues for the creation and expression of all art forms was no small feat unto itself over fifty years ago; but to this day, that initial vision has manifest into building an organization that has not only served as the cornerstone for the arts in its local communities, but has an even further reach by helping pioneer and innovate entire industries. From its reputation of creating some of the most immersive and topawarded live theatrical experiences through incorporation of live cinematic surround sound, state-of-the-art lighting effects, and full wall video projection—to pioneering new music technologies such as performing and broadcasting the world’s first live intercontinental remote piano concert to a sold out Strathmore Hall in Maryland—to being featured by National Geographic for its leading edge music and wellness programs—to creating the region’s largest and most state-of-the-art flagship art gallery that incorporates new and advanced full spectrum light tuning—the Hi-Desert Cultural Center is a creative and leading force that, with its dedicated staff and volunteers, believes that there is still much to innovate in the art world. The Hi-Desert Cultural Center features over 30,000 square feet of stateof-the-art arts creation, education, exhibition, and performance venues. Its


iconic main facilities in Joshua Tree feature a 340-seat bi-level theater—currently undergoing substantial renovations and reopening soon, and a performance hall that houses a 200+ seat Blak Box Theater with multiple studio and classroom spaces. Its new Yucca Valley Visual & Performing Arts Center features the most expansive arts exhibition space in the greater Joshua Tree area, including large dedicated studios for dance arts, broadcast arts, visual arts, wood and metal arts, fabric arts for fashion and costume design, a large wardrobe and commercial laundry, culinary arts, and more. The Cultural Center also owns and facilitates the operation of a dedicated residence that is the Charles J. Evered House Artist Residency for Veterans. The Hi-Desert Cultural Center’s programs enable professional, amateur, and student artists of every level and type the opportunity to get involved. It is the largest arts employer in the region, with over 30 full and part time positions that implement its many and varied programs. The Center’s programs include its Hi-Desert Playhouse theater division, a top-awarded producer of some the best live theater in the Southern California desert region; its 60-member Joshua Tree Philharmonic symphony orchestra and 50-member Hi-Desert Master Chorus that perform jazz, world, classical, and popular music; its visual arts division featuring the new Yucca Valley Art Gallery’s exhibitions that have set a new benchmark for the region and the curation of Art In Public Places that includes the Hi-Desert Medical Center galleries; and its acclaimed Arts|Tech Academy program recognized for its artistic excellence by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Center also produces spoken word and literary arts events, concerts, special musical performance programs and festivals, including the Joshua Tree International Improv/Comedy Festival. Through its VisitJT.org website it provides resources to all of the community and area arts organizations. The site features a regional online arts, cultural, and events calendar, the most complete and non-discriminatory local news, and many arts resources including information on venues, non-profit organizations, businesses, artists and more. A GuideStar Gold Status nonprofit organization, the Hi-Desert Cultural Center is not a government entity and is predominantly funded through its programs and private contributions. For more information on the Hi-Desert Cultural Center, visit hidesertculturalcenter.org, send an email to info@hidesertculturalcenter.org, or call 760.366.3777. A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

19


JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Theaters

Theatre 29 from 1999 to 2017

“All the World is a stage” ~ WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

20

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

In 1999, concerned that Twentynine Palms area youth were not being exposed to the live arts, a group of citizens began putting on plays using School District facilities. The goal was not to train performers, but to train audiences, to provide young people with a lifelong appreciation for the theatre arts. In 2000 they formalized “Theatre 29” as an arts organization. The City of Twentynine Palms invited them to share a building at 73637 Sullivan Road with the 29 Palms Youth Club, a short time later the Youth Club moved to Luckie Park. Theatre 29 became a program of 29 Palms Park and Recreation, with the City providing the building and the volunteer board running the theatre arts program. Volunteers did major renovations and improvements to the building; stage, light and sound booth, three restrooms, green room, carpeting, curtains, new risers and floor seating for an audience of 91, and an extension of the backstage area, all by volunteers supported by generous donors and patrons. In 2003, still part of the city, Theatre 29 received an $80,000.00 CDBG block grant for landscaping, paving, outside lighting, curbs and


gutters. Shortly after, at their expense, Theatre 29 built a 20 x 30 metal storage/workshop building facility. In December 2005, Theater 29, in need of outside funding, amicably broke from the City, became an independent organization, received a 501(c)3 tax-exempt designation (EIN 55-808217) from the IRS, joined the American Association of Community Theaters, and acquired their own insurance policies. In 2006 Theatre 29 was awarded an $80,000.00 CDBG block grant for air conditioning and heating. Theatre 29 entered a ten-year lease, $1.00 a year, for the building provided “for the public good” by the City. Theatre 29 pays support costs such as utilities, phone, trash, minor maintenance, etc. The City pays for major building repairs unrelated to play production. Theatre 29 then partnered with the City for a 30x40 metal storage building with the City providing $15,000.00 and Theatre 29 providing $15,000.00 in engineering, concrete, and labor. In 2017, after having a large percentage of military kids and families involved in our productions, The Officers Spouse’s Club aboard the Twentynine palms marine Base invited us to apply for their community grant program. They gave us enough to pay for half of desperately needed carpet for the Theater, U.S. Bank, hearing

of the need, granted the second half of the funds and the new carpet-tiles were installed in July. In the 19 years Theatre 29 has operated from the City facility, they have produced 124 productions viewed by about 15,000 patrons, involving some 2,000 volunteers, children, active duty military and dependents, teens, and adults. A big highlight is the Theatre 29 Summer Youth Program which produces children’s productions in an intense 5-week program. Over 60 area children, including many from the nearby Marine base, are involved. A Grant from U.S. Bank and the City of Twentynine Palms enabled the Youth program to offer the program at reduced cost. While arts organizations around the state are struggling, Theatre 29 remains sustainable and successful, garnering artistic accolades for high quality productions. As a member of the Desert Theater League, “DTL”, an organization of 39 Producing Organizations in the Morongo Basin and Coachella Valley, Theatre 29 has won many top awards for Direction, Acting, Music, Chorography, Set Design, technical theater and costuming. Currently an effort is underway, in partnership with the City, to renovate and expand the old theater building to include an area to raise and lower scenery (Fly-Loft) and increase seating capacity.

TheaterS

MOVIE TheaterS

Blak Box Theatre www.hidesertculturalcenter.org

Joshua Tree Astronomy Arts Theater www.joshuatreetheater.com

Cinema 6 Theater www.cinema6theatre.com

Grove’s Cabin Theater www.grovescabintheatre.org

Theatre 29! www.theatre29.org

Smith’s Ranch Drive-In Theater www.29drive-in.com

Hi-Desert Playhouse www.hidesertculturalcenter.org

Youth Theater www.hidesertculturalcenter.org

Sunset Cinema www.mccs29palms.com

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

21


JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Eat/Shop/Play

Eat Frontier Café

www.cafefrontier.com

2 Guys Pies

www.2guysspies.com

Little Italy Restaurant www.littleitaly-yvl.com

Joshua Tree Farmers Market

www.joshuatreefarmersmarket.com

Landers Brew Co. www.lbrewco.com

Pappy & Harriet’s

www.pappyandharriets.com

The Palms Restaurant

www.facebook.com/Palms-Restarant-109407105764539

Joshua Tree Saloon

www.joshuatreesaloon.com

Natural Sisters Café

www.naturalsisterscafe.com

La Copine

www.lacopinekitchen.com

Larry & Milt’s Western Cafe 760.369.3000

Kimi Grill

www.facebook.com/kimigrillyv

Joshua Hookah Lounge

www.facebook.com/Joshuahookahlounge

29 Palms Inn

www.29palmsinn.com

Bistro Twentynine

www.bistro29palms.com

Mojave Moon Cafe

www.mojavemooncafe.com

22

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

The Rib Co.

www.theribco.com

Jumbo Rock Cafe

www.facebook.com/jumborock29

Palm Kabob House 760.367.2161

Kitchen in the Desert 760.282.4793

Country Kitchen 760.366.8988

Pie for the People

www.pieforthepeople.com

La Casita

www.golacasita.com

Aki Sushi

www.akisushi.site.mobi

Las Palmas Mexican Cuisine

www.laspalmasmexicancuisine.com

Andreas Charbroiled Burgers 760.367.2008

Joshua Tree Coffee Company www.jtcoffeeco.com

La Casita Nueva

www.golacasita.com

Crossroads Cafe

www.crossroadscafejtree.com

Sam’s Indian Food & Pizza www.samsindianfood.com

Park Rock Cafe

www.jtparkrockcafe.com

Yokozuna

760.820.1932 and many more...


A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

23


JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Eat/Shop/Play

Shop BKB Ceramics

www.bkbceramics.com

Daper Dates & Queer Arts Venue www.facebook.com/Dapper-DatesShop-T-Hammidi-209463522416489

Jen’s Pirate Booty

Joshua Tree Rock Shop

www.joshuatree-rockshop.com

Grateful Desert Apothecary, Herb Shop and Eco Market www.gratefuldesert.com

Nomad Adventures

Joshua Tree Astronomy Arts

Hoof & The Horn

Mojave Sol Gifts and Art

Hoodoo

Sky Village Market Place

Black Luck Vintage

Riccochet Vintage Wears

Rainbow Stew

Coyote Corner

Pioneer Crossing Antiques

Sun Alley Shops

Promised Land

Zannedelions

Funky & Darn Near New

Joshua Tree Coffee Company

29 Palms Art Gallery Gift Shop

www.mojavesol29.com

www.skyvillageswapmeet.com www.ricochetjoshuatree.com www.jtcoyotecorner.com www.sunalleyshops.blogspot.com www.zannedelions.com www.jtcoffeeco.com

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

www.joshuatreeoutfitters.com

www.jenspiratebooty.com/pages/joshuatree-store www.joshuatreetheater.com

24

Joshua Tree Outfitters

www.nomadventures.com www.hoofandthehorn.com www.shophoodoo.com www.blackluckvintage.com www.rainbowstew4u.com www.pioneercrossingantiques.com www.visitpromisedland.com www.funkydarnnearnew.com

www.29palmsartgallery.com/gift-shop


A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

25


Play 29 Palms Historical Society www.29palmshistorical.com 760.367.2366

Joshua Tree National Park www.nps.gov/jotr

Beauty Bubble Salon and Museum

www.facebook.com/Beauty BubbleSalonAndMuseum

Desert Christ Park

www.desertchristpark.org

Integratron

JOSHUA TREE LIVING ARTS

is a lean and soulful non-profit, dedicated to strengthening community through the arts. Operating quietly behind the scenes, JTLA provides foundational professional assistance to artists and organizations, collaborates with colleagues on programming and fundraising, and brings local and traveling artists into our schools and community. The team – comprised of artists, educators, and creative entrepreneurs – is passionately devoted to providing arts opportunities to all members of the Joshua Tree community.This past June, JTLA was selected by a group of local arts leaders to guide the implementation of the Morongo Basin Strategic Plan for Culture and Arts. JTLA will work in partnership with local arts organizations, government agencies, and businesses to achieve the plan’s established goals of expanding cultural equity, building professional capacity for artists, growing arts education, and collaboratively marketing our cultural resources. This plan is a living document – a springboard for the Joshua Tree communities to begin addressing the needs of this growing arts and culture destination. cultureandartsmb.com or joshuatreelivingarts.org RECENT PROJECTS • Last winter JTLA helped raise funds, $7854, for Jenny Q’s collaborative non-fiction book Held Together -- a family love story about a child, two women and an eclectic Joshua Tree community who loved her back to life. www.heldtogetherbook.com • This past spring the group organized Desert Rhythm Project’s album release for Mojave Roots, and teamed them up with young, budding musicians from the Thursday Jam Group who had the opportunity to rehearse with DRP and perform in front of over 250 attendees. www.desertrhythmproject.com • JTLA is also pleased to be providing Furstwurld – a multidisciplinary performance venue – with professional assistance that will help set the stage for this venue to establish non-profit status and ensure that this private space is transferred to the Joshua Tree community as a future resource. www.facebook.com/pages/Furstworld/489200284472412 • Last year JTLA brought artists into schools, matching up our region’s wealth of artistic talent with 188 elementary students at a cost of $3.18/child. This year JTLA will work with Morongo Unified School District administrators, teachers, and local artists to develop artAcurriculum, beT integrated into T G T E W A Y •that A Rwill T PA RONMAG A Zthe I NK-6 E . Ccore O Mcurriculum at 11 elementary schools. 26 J an

www.integratron.com

Joshua Tree Retreat Center www.jtrcc.org

Outpost Projects

www.outpostprojects.org

Sky’s The Limit

www.skysthelimit29.org


A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

27


JT ARTS & CULTURE

|

Calendar

MONTHLY Art Walks Joshua Tree

Second Saturdays

Twentynine Palms Art Cruise 29 First Saturdays

September Bhakti Fest

www.bhaktifest.com

Desert Stars Festival

www.desertstarsfestival.com

Joshua Tree Art Expo

www.jtnparts.org/jtnp-art-exposition

JT Gem Show

www.jtsportsmansclub.com/gem

Pioneer Days

www.29chamber.org

November Night Sky Festival

www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/ night-sky-festival

Joshua Tree Half Marathon

www.facebook.com/joshuatreehalf

The Weed Show

Joshua Tree Music Festival

Chalkfest

Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours

www.hwy62arttours.org

Desert Daze

www.desertdaze.org

Gubler’s Orchid Festival

www.gublers.com/orchidfestival

Babe’s Ride Out

www.babesrideout.com J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

www.friendsofjosh.org/tag/climbsmart

October www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com

28

Climb Smart

www.29palmshistorical.com www.29chamber.org

Gourd Art Festival www.yuccavalley.org

March Bequinox

www.bequinox.com

JT Gem Show

www.jtsportsmansclub.com/gem


Car Show and Street Fair www.29chamber.org

April

Featured artwork: Gordon Huether

Sat Nam Fest

www.satnamfest.com/west

Joshua Tree National Park Art Festival www.joshuatree.org

29 Palms Grand Prix www.big6racing.com

May Joshua Tree Music Festival www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com

Shakti Fest

www.bhaktifest.com/shaktifest/

June Contact in the Desert

www.contactinthedesert.com

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

www.HiDesertNatureMuseum.org

August Timelapse Film Festival

www.timelapsefilmfestival.com

Imagine an art gallery whose doors are always open!

Free Public Art Tours

Join us for free guided tours of our public artwork. Our one hour tours occur on select Saturdays as part of Palm Desert First Weekend. Prefer a private tour? Book a free tour for any time you like!

Information: 760-346-0611 or visit www.palmdesertart.org A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

29


30

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M


A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M • J T G AT E W AY

31


32

J T G AT E W AY • A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.