An Anti-Art Fair Is Taking Root in the Mojave Desert |
Business Finance Media Technology Policy Wealth Insights Interviews
Art Art Fairs Art Market Art Reviews Auctions Galleries Museums Interviews
Lifestyle Nightlife & Dining Style Travel Interviews
Power Index Nightlife & Dining Art A.I. PR
About About Observer Advertise With Us Reprints
An Anti-Art Fair Is Taking Root in the Mojave Desert
Now in its third edition, the High Desert Art Fair makes the case that the future of fairs is smaller, slower and more intentional.
The art world spent much of last year talking about fair fatigue, which might be why it’s so surprising that the answer to our collective exhaustion might be the surfeit of smaller, dealer-led initiatives emerging across regions. These alternative art fairs, or salons as many are now calling them, challenge the traditional bloated, overly commercial fair model, turning it back into what fairs were conceived as: community platforms of visibility, connection and exchange from which business could naturally flow.
Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter
Thank you for signing up!
By clicking submit, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime.
In today’s experience-driven world, where storytelling and destination are everything, and collectors and dealers alike are flocking to fairs that can offer an experiential journey combining art with the history of a specific place. High Desert Art Fair (HDAF), now in its third edition, is a boutique fair set in a unique cultural outpost known as Pioneertown. Built in the 1940s as a Western film set, it sits just outside Joshua Tree National Park, about 2.5 hours from Los Angeles. This year, 15 art dealers, primarily from California and the West Coast, will mount displays in the rooms of the Pioneertown Motel, which will be transformed for the event into not only galleries but a place to celebrate interdisciplinary creativity and the desert community.
The list of participants includes both traditional art and photography galleries, as well as independent projects and publishers, such as Boxo Projects (Joshua Tree, CA), Dorado 806 Projects (Santa Monica, CA), Fahey/Klein (Los Angeles, CA), Gross Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Harold’s Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), John Doe Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Jonathan Carver Moore (San Francisco, CA), Megan Mulrooney (Los Angeles, CA), MutMuz Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), The Pit (Los Angeles, CA), Track 16 (Los Angeles, CA), Weinholt Projects (Los Angeles, CA) and Yucca Valley Material Lab (Yucca Valley, CA). Programming extends well beyond traditional visual art showcases, with panel discussions, special visits and, most importantly, engagement with the local music community.
At the heart of the fair are its two visionary co-founders, Nicholas Fahey and Candice Lawler. “I often joke with Candace that it’s easier to get a collector to go to Joshua Tree for the weekend than to get them to drive from Malibu to Hollywood for an art show,” Fahey tells Observer. “I’ve always loved hospitality and using it to connect with people and artists, which helps sell artwork.”
It all started when Fahey and Lawler hosted their first event as a test, bringing 40 collectors to the desert. The weekend included an exhibition at a gallery, a brunch, a visit to Candace’s house for an exhibition of........