Greater Joshua Tree Art Expo Announces 2024 Winners
OPEN 2-6 PM EVERY DAY
SEP 6-22
58325 CA-62
As the sun set over the arid expanse of the Mojave Desert on September 6th, the Joshua Tree Gallery of Contemporary Art was drenched in creativity when the Water in the Desert Art Expo, a collaboration between the Mojave Water Agency (MWA) and the Hi-Desert Cultural Center, opened to the public as hundreds of art patrons, buyers, enthusiasts, collectors, and aficionados came to celebrate the new and unique artworks now being exhibited.
This year’s juried exhibition and competition is a breathtaking exploration of the profound relationship between water and the desert landscape, captured through the eyes of more than 40 talented artists from across the Southwestern United States. It marks the second extraordinary year of water education through images captured throughout our desert region.
The juried exhibition was curated by Cultural Center volunteers President Jarrod Radnich and Anne Sholtz. All the art is available for purchase while the exhibition is open to the public from 2 pm to 6 pm daily through Sept. 22 at 58325 CA-62, Yucca Valley, CA.
MWA is a water wholesaler that was formed in 1960 to address the critical overdraft of the region’s groundwater. The art exhibition is an outreach program designed to create a top-of-mind awareness about water conservation in a community known as an art enclave.
“This region of the Agency’s service area attracts so many talented artists. We tailored our outreach efforts to their interests to promote the conservation of the desert’s most precious resource…water. Last year’s inaugural event was such a success, we knew we had to bring it back this year, and the results did not disappoint.” — Marina West, Mojave Water Agency Division 2 Director
The exhibition is awash with entries in three categories: Photography, 2-Dimensional Art, and 3-Dimensional Art. An independent panel of judges evaluated each category to determine first, second and third place winners; and Agency board members and staff conferred to designate one entry to receive the MWA Choice Award.
In the photography category, this year’s winners are Bill Leigh Brewer (1st), Jennifer Ruggiero (2nd), and Mark Hannah (3rd). In the 2D category the winners were Laurie Schafer (1st), Tobias Tovera (2nd), and Colleen Moran (3rd). In the 3D category the winners were James Bowden (1st), Deborah Ammar (2nd), and Thomas Alban (3rd).
Lucy Gonzalez is the recipient of this year’s MWA Choice Award, presented for her ink drawing, “Oasis Unveiled: The Tortoise’s Triumph” that MWA judged to best capture the essence of the theme.
Other artists featured in this year’s exposition include: Shawnta Akins, Elaine Bron, Hannah Campbell, Matt Cauthron, Janis Commentz, Kristin Czech, Sharon Davis, Petra Deeter, Spelman Evans Downer, Sunrise Endo-Markey, Amy Harper, Terry Hastings, Cheryl Hunter, Kathy Jones Bret Langford, Edwin Liew-Ferguson, William Makuta, Cynthia Merino, Kathy Miller, Mitch Miller, Tami Roleff, Dr. Pushpa Sah, Shiela Sasek, Esther Shaw, Sahba Shere, Karin Skiba, Gillyan Thorburn, Cher Townsend, Juan Varela, Juliette Vos, Krista Wargo, and Steven Wybenga.
For more information about Mojave Water Agency’s conservation and outreach efforts, or the Water in the Desert Art Expo visit www.MojaveWater.org or follow us on social media @mojavewater. For more information on the Hi-Desert Cultural Center, its arts education programs and classes, or its Joshua Tree Gallery of Contemporary Art visit www.jtarts.org and www.jtgoca.com.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS YEAR’S 2024 AWARD WINNERS!
PHOTOGRAPHY
1ST PLACE: “6:55 pm. Bristol Dry Lake. October 14, 2013” | Artist: Bill Leigh Brewer
2ND PLACE: “Thunder Road” | Artist: Jennifer Ruggiero
3RD PLACE: “What We Alter In The Remembering” | Artist: Mark Hannah
2D (NOT PHOTOGRAPHY)
1ST PLACE: “Dusk At Willow Hole” | Artist: Laurie Schafer
2ND PLACE: “Limnocrene” | Artist: Tobias Tovera
3RD PLACE: “Horny Toad Lizard var. Narcissus” | Artist: Colleen Moran
3D
1ST PLACE: “Desert Reflections” | Artist: James Bowden
2ND PLACE: “Only A Matter Of Time” | Artist: Deborah Ammar
3RD PLACE: “Arroyo” | Artist: Thomas Alban
MWA CHOICE AWARD
“Oasis Unveiled: The Tortoise’s Triumph” | Artist: Lucy Gonzalez