ABOUT
US
Our Mission
Joshua Tree National Park Council for the Arts was formed in 2013-2014 to help foster the spirit of artistic expression inspired by the park, celebrate the park’s majestic landscape and precious wildlife, preserve the park’s cultural history, and support the preservation, enhancement, and sustainability of the entire California Deserts Region.
ABOUT THE PARK
Joshua Tree National Park covers nearly 800,000 acres of Southern California desert and encompasses three distinct ecosystems: the Mojave Desert across the northern part of the park; the Colorado Desert portion of the Sonoran Desert, covering the southern and eastern portions of the park; and the Little San Bernardino Mountains on the western side. The park is known around the world for its spacious vistas, colorful mountains, monolithic rock formations, desert playas, hiking, rock climbing, Native American history, historic mining sites, and vast array of wildlife, including its namesake, the strange and proud icon of the California desert, the Joshua tree. Established as a national monument in 1936 and proclaimed a national park in 1994, the park now receives more than 3 million visitors per year.
Read more about the park on its website: www.nps.gov/jotr
ABOUT THE ART EXPO
ART is an important part of the culture of Joshua Tree National Park and its surrounding gateway communities, and an ongoing art movement has grown in the region in recent years. The inaugural Joshua Tree National Park Art Exposition was created in 2013 to showcase artwork “depicting or inspired by Joshua Tree National Park or its cultural history” and to celebrate this art with a juried exhibition and an opening weekend art event at venues in the Oasis of Mara area of Twentynine Palms, CA, next to Joshua Tree National Park Headquarters.
Now held in November each year, the JTNP Art Expo attracts 150+ artists from the desert region, and across California, the United States, and Canada, who submit entries for the juried exhibition. Approximately 50 to 60 of these artists are selected to show artwork in the month-long exhibition at the historic 29 Palms Art Gallery. Their artwork is also featured in an exhibition catalog, print and online, and eligible for cash awards totaling $4,000, which are presented at an awards reception on opening weekend.
2017 Cultural Contributor of the Year Award
RECOGNITION
At the 2017 Basin Wide Foundation Annual Dinner, Joshua Tree National Park Council for the Arts was presented with a Cultural Contributor of the Year Award.
Joshua Tree National Park Council for the Arts was formed in 2013-2014 to help foster the spirit of artistic expression inspired by the park, celebrate the park’s majestic landscape and precious wildlife, preserve the park’s cultural history, and support the preservation, enhancement, and sustainability of the entire California Deserts Region.
PREMIER Sponsors
Many thanks to our loyal premier sponsors who have supported our arts organization and its flagship event, the JTNP Art Exposition! It is due to their generous donations and volunteerism that this event allows us to celebrate art each year.
Join us in supporting our local business sponsors by patronizing their businesses! PARTNERS & SPONSORS
