Approximately 80 members of the Artists Council whose work was selected for final judging in the 2023 Annual Artists Council Exhibition and Sale will be biting paint- and ceramic-flecked nails on Feb. 17 at almost 4 p.m. Jurors Marcia Reed – retired chief curator and associate director of the Getty Research Institute – and Wendy Posner – owner of Posner Fine Art – will announce five winners.

Glory will be theirs. There will also be monetary prizes, so that doesn’t hurt.

Now powered by 549 artist members, the Artists Council weathered both its separation from the Palm Springs Art Museum and the pandemic. The Artists Council was one of nine member organizations associated with the museum for nearly 50 years. The Palm Springs Art Museum decided to disband its councils, however, so the then-300 members of the Artists Council applied for non-profit status and were granted office space at The Galen. The Artists Council took advantage of the Palm Springs Art Museum’s efforts to negotiate its way out of its long-term lease with The Galen, then stepped into the void and re-branded themselves as the Artists Council Artist Center at The Galen.

Since then, membership nearly doubled and the council moved ahead with its highly successful program of exhibitions and events. They adroitly adapted to the limitations of the pandemic by hosting virtual exhibitions. Now, as life takes baby steps back to normalcy, the council will continue to put on six exhibitions and two juried shows per year. 

Uschi Wilson, director of communications for the council, says that one of the highlights of the process is the day the artwork by the approximately 160 entrants arrives at The Galen. 

“It’s a lot of fun … It’s like a big social event for all the artists to see each other,” she says.

All mediums of art except for video – from oil painting to collage to photography to ceramics — are represented in the exhibition. One of the most important aspects of the process of putting on the exhibition occurs after all the art is sitting in the museum and the doors are closed, according to Wilson. This is the moment that Merritt Price, who spent 25 years at the Getty as head of design, begins to group the pieces together in The Galen’s different spaces. 

“Sometimes, they are grouped by color; sometimes, all the figurative pieces go together,” Wilson says. “But, the important thing is that the pieces in a grouping should be complementary; they flow together like a dance.”

Wilson expects attendance at the Feb. 17 exhibit to top 600 people — artists, friends, members of the council, and the general public. Though the reception is scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m., it is hard not to imagine that those attendees who are passionate about art will linger until the last light is extinguished.