Modernism Week

Palm Springs, as we know it, is a fabulous place.

This week the city of Palm Springs celebrates and embraces all that the city is, was, is famous for, and will be forever remembered by.

Basically, if there was any weekend to be in Palm Springs – this is the one. It’s something like, Palm Springs’s 11-day-birthday-bash and all their admirers are invited to the party where they will be in the spotlight on center-stage all night long.

If you are an admirer of modern design, architecture, interior design, vintage cars, vintage fashion, vintage art, Palm Springs history, or just art & design in general… then this is definitely the event of the year not to missed!!! In fact, this is the very event to drool over. There is not a better place to celebrate the fine art of modernism anywhere else than here in sunny Palm Springs, CA. And lucky for us, it’s an 11 day long event – so at least everyone will have an opportunity to check at least one event/party/tour/film/lecture out.

Featured below I have added text information from Modernism Week’s website, photos found online relating to the event, and cool informational video provided by Modernism Week’s YouTube channel – all of which are very informative …so read up!

The Coachella Valley Art Scene has been granted the opportunity to attend many of these events and we will be reporting back to our readers mini-recaps of each one that we attend here on the blog! So make sure to keep an eye out for that! And if you will be attending some Modernism Week events as well, then keep an eye our for us….we would love to chat over a martini or two…

Toodles!!! See ya around…

What is Modernism Week?

Modernism Week, the only such event in the country, is an exciting 11-day celebration of mid-century modern design, architecture and culture. This design aesthetic, originated in the 1950s and 60s, was typified by clean, simple lines and celebrated elegant informality which came to define desert modernism.

In the winter of 2006, following the success of both the MODERNISM SHOW which had started in 2001 and the annual symposium organized by the ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN COUNCIL of the PALM SPRINGS ART MUSEUM, a few local design and architecture aficionados created MODERNISM WEEK to showcase Palm Springs’ world-renowned mid-century modern architecture.

Among the members of the initial steering committee were representatives from the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, the Palm Springs Modern Committee, the Palm Springs Historical Society, and the Architecture and Design Council of the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Palm Springs Modern Committee

The Palm Springs Modern Committee is a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to promoting and maintaining the heritage of modern architecture and design in Palm Springs and the entire Coachella Valley. Our goal is to be a meeting place for Palm Springs Modernists, both residents and nonresidents, with the ability to quickly mobilize support for urgent preservation issues. View Site

Palm Springs Art Museum

Located downtown in an architecturally-significant E. Stewart Williams-designed building, the Palm Springs Art Museum features exciting exhibitions of contemporary, Native American, Western and Pre-Columbian art in spacious galleries. It features two sculpture gardens, stimulating lectures and educational programs for all ages, and offers diverse performances at its Annenberg Theater. View Site

Palm Springs Modernism Show

The Palm Springs Convention Center will host 75 noted national and international decorative and fine arts dealers presenting all design movements of the 20th Century. The event is scheduled for February 18-20, 2011. A wide range of vintage 20th Century furniture and decorative arts will be presented and sold by 90 exhibitors, many from the West Coast, but some who come from as far away as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Denver, and Miami. View Site

Palm Springs Preservation Foundation

The Palm Springs Preservation Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to educate and promote public awareness of the importance of preserving the historical resources and architecture of the city of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley area.” View Site