“After a year of membership drives, construction and planning, the new Hi-Desert Artists nonprofit is slated to open its new gallery during the next Yucca Valley Art Walk.
The space, a former vintage shop in Yucca Valley, is being operated by dozens of desert-based artists who took matters into their own hands following the closure of the Joshua Tree Art Gallery. The Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council voted to close down the gallery, also known as JTAG, about a year ago in order to focus its budget and resources on the annual Highway 62 art tours.
Snake Jagger, a local painter who is serving as the marketing director for the new collective, said JTAG had been a longtime community fixture that offered artists a year-round place to show their works. A group of artists, helmed by Ed Keesling, attempted to take over the lease; while their efforts were unsuccessful, the group decided to take its momentum elsewhere, leading to the creation of the Hi-Desert Artists (HDA)…”
