The internationally acclaimed Desert X returns for its fifth edition, unveiling eleven thought-provoking installations across the Coachella Valley. Free and open to the public through May 11, 2025, this year’s exhibition is curated by Artistic Director Neville Wakefield and Co-Curator Kaitlin Garcia Maestas. Featuring artists from Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East, Desert X explores themes of transformation, temporality, and the complex relationship between humanity and nature. Through a mix of architectural forms and ephemeral elements like wind and light, the exhibition invites visitors to engage with the desert as both a historical archive and a space for reimagining the future.
The works in Desert X 2025 reflect a deep dialogue between contemporary artistic expression and the desert’s layered histories. Many installations adopt architectural forms—both pavilion-like and abstract—to highlight the visible impact of human presence, while others embrace more elusive and immaterial elements. According to Garcia Maestas, the exhibition “reveals the landscape of the Coachella Valley as a canvas of real and imagined histories, narrating tales of displacement, sovereignty, and adaptation.” Wakefield adds that while the desert has long been viewed as an unspoiled frontier, today’s reality is more complex, requiring new ways of understanding and coexisting with our environment.
Guided by the belief that art can inspire transformation and awareness, Desert X continues to serve as a platform for global artists to address pressing environmental and social issues. Executive Director Jenny Gil emphasizes that this year’s constellation of works offers new perspectives on sustainability, community, and our collective future. As visitors explore the installations, they are encouraged to reflect on the intersection of nature, history, and human intervention—gaining deeper insight into the evolving landscape of the Coachella Valley.
Artists Include:
Sanford Biggers, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA. 1970, based in New York, NY, USA
Jose Dávila, b. Guadalajara, Mexico, 1974, based in Guadalajara, Mexico
Agnes Denes, b. Budapest, Hungary, 1931, based in New York, NY, USA
Cannupa Hanska Luger, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara and Lakota, b. Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota, USA, 1979, based in Glorieta, New Mexico, USA
Raphael Hefti, b. Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1978, based in Zurich, Switzerland
Kimsooja, b. Daegu, Korea, 1957, based in Seoul, South Korea and Paris, France
Kapwani Kiwanga, b. Hamilton, Canada, 1978, based in Paris, France
Sarah Meyohas, b. New York, NY, USA, 1991, based in New York, NY, USA
Ronald Rael, b. Conejos Country, CO, USA,1971, based in Berkeley, CA, USA
Alison Saar, b. in Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1956, based in Los Angeles, CA, USA
Muhannad Shono, b. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1977, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
For more information, visit Desert X’s official website.
Photos by Lance Gerber