Palm Springs Modernism Week: Can’t Miss Events
Author:Lindsey ShookPalm Spring Modernism Week kicks off this Thursday (running through February 24), and the wildly popular art and design celebration has more to offer this year than ever before. In addition to all the events that let you worship at the altar of the midcentury (tour Sunnylands, shop the Modernism show and sale, and of course, get tipsy Mad Men–style at the Retro Martini Party) there are always some decidedly Modern (hold the “ism”) events that manage to sneak in.
This year, there’s a behind the scenes chat with Marimekko (which, despite its midcentury roots, has evolved into a thoroughly of-the-moment architecture and design house), the Prefab Showcase and California Home+Design‘s very own event “The Modern Mindset: Purists of the Past and the New Futurists.”
At our panel we’ll be poking our noses into Palm Springs’ dirty little secret—that despite its reputation as a design mecca, some see it as stubbornly stuck in the past. With our panel of experts, including architect Barbara Bestor, fashion designer Trina Turk, artist Danny Heller and president of the Palm Springs Modernism Committee, Chris Menrad, we’ll discuss whether modernism is a philosophy that fits perfectly with all the innovative and forward-thinking work being done today or is simply an aesthetic that represents a long-gone moment in time. For more information and tickets, visit here.
But when I’m not inciting the ire of the passionate purists, I’ll be hopping around to as many of the events, lectures and tours that I can cram into my long weekend, including Moby on Modernism at the Ace Hotel, Welcome Aboard—The Pan Am Experience, and one of the great architectural bus tours. And of course there will surely be down time for a few hours pool side at our hotel The Saguaro. Past, present or future, Palm Springs always wins when it comes to weather.
See you in Palm Springs!
