La Quinta, CA
Civic Center Campus, March 5-8
For four days beginning on March 5, the 33rd La Quinta Arts Festival takes over the 13-acre Civic Center Campus, bringing together 225 artists working in 11 different media. Featuring painting, sculpture, jewelry, glass, and more, the show continues to be known for excellence in the art world and was honored as the number-one fine-art festival and fine-craft festival by Art Fair Sourcebook for the third year in a row. “We’re really thrilled that we’ve been ranked number one in the nation,” says Kathleen Hughes, events manager for the festival.
The festival prides itself on showcasing new and established artists from all over the country, with 21 percent of the field having never participated in the festival before. This year’s featured artists represent that range as well, with up-and-coming Arizona artist Kay Cummins alongside more established artists Lorra Lee Rose, Stan O’Neil, and Guilloume. “We’re going to be featuring a few artists in more than one medium to show the diversity of art we carry,” Hughes says. “Lorra Lee Rose is from Northern California, and she won best of mixed media last year. She’s known for her feathered torsos and feathered masks. Guilloume is from New Mexico, and he does both sculpture and painting. He’s our poster artist this year, and we’re going to use his painting IN PRAYER. His works are fabulous, and he’s a nice, lovely man on top of that.”
Art education and outreach are pillars of the show’s mission, in addition to presenting great art. Over the years festival proceeds have provided over a million dollars in scholarships to students pursuing degrees in the visual arts. But it’s the quality art the festival continues to display that draws the crowds each year. “We have everything from plein-air landscape painting to more contemporary to the style of Guilloume, which is unique unto itself,” Hughes says. “We’re a big glass show, and we’re also known as a large sculpture show. Because we have a free-flowing type of site, it really invites people with sculpture to place them all throughout. There’s really something for everyone at this show.” —Joe Kovack
contact information
760.564.1244
www.lqaf.com
Featured in the March 2015 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
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Joe Kovack 