The Artists Council is celebrating its new beginning at the Palm Desert Artists Center at the Galen with a calendar chock-full of events featuring workshops, in-person and virtual exhibitions, artist demonstrations and more.

One of the Council’s upcoming events, the Artists Council Exhibition (ACE) and Sale, is an annual art celebration spanning multiple decades and is the Council’s “most important annual juried show,” Artists Council Board President David Hatcher said, showing “the best of the best” in the local art culture.

The 2022 ACE Exhibition and Sale is scheduled to take place from Feb. 11 through March 27, and will spotlight renowned philanthropists Jerry Fogelson and Helene Galen, two longtime supporters of the Coachella Valley arts community.

“Indicative of their life-long histories of generosity, [Galen was] Patron and the major donor for the 2010 refit that originally created The Galen as an art location, and continued her support as the Artists Council has made the building its new home,” Hatcher said. “Fogelson, leader of the 2010 refit fundraising effort and a major donor for the creation of the Education Wing, recently sponsored the re-dedicated Fogelson Foundation Education Wing.”

Fogelson also sits on the Council Board and heads the Advisors Council. The two honors will see their names featured on the exterior walls of the Fogelson Foundation Education Wing and the Artists Center at the Galen. The Council signed its lease with Palm Desert to occupy the Center in April of this year when it was rebranded from the Palm Desert’s Artists Center to include the Galen moniker.

Hatcher described the Center as “an artwork itself.” In 2007 the Center was granted a LEED Certification, the second building to receive that certification in Riverside County history.

“The building provides eight striking galleries for art exhibitions and an Education Wing able to support a robust education and event program,” Hatcher explained. “We are anxious to share and expand our facilities for our members and the old and young in the community. Since signing the lease in April, our membership has grown over 50% indicating the importance of the Artists Center to our membership.”

The ACE event will kick off with an opening reception at the Galen Center on Friday, Feb. 11, from 5-7 p.m., where featured art may be viewed and purchased. The reception will include Lulu Catering refreshments, entertainment in the sculpture gardens and valet parking.

According to Hatcher, the Council received nearly 200 entries from 148 artists to be featured at the Exhibition. A jury will narrow the selection down to 80-85 pieces for the event. 

“The art is a wide range from painting including watercolor, oils and acrylics, to sculptures, assemblage and glass works from representative to abstract,” Hatcher said. 

The jury for selection will include the following industry experts: Edina Adam, Assistant Curator of Drawings, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Melissa Russo, Director, San Bernadino County Museum, Redlands; and Daniel Foster, Artist, Poet and Executive Director, Shumway Ranch Artists-in-Residence Program above Palm Desert.

Attendance to the ACE opening reception event requires advance ticket purchases online, and proof of COVID vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours of the event.

The ACE Exhibition is the opening number to a teeming spring season at the Galen Center; four early music concerts from Desert Baroque are slated through March 2022, Art and Wine Dinners will launch in January, an Interactive Gallery Project will soon be introduced and the Coachella Valley Watercolor Society’s annual show will commence in April. 

“In just the nine weeks since we opened on Oct. 15, we are well on the way to becoming the hub of art activity in the Coachella Valley,” Hatcher said.

The Artists Center at the Galen, 72-567 Highway 111, Palm Desert, is open Wednesdays-Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with free admission (donation suggested). To become a sponsor, join the Artists Council or buy tickets for the Opening Reception, visit ArtistsCouncil.com or call 760-565-6130.