ON EARTH TO STAY EXHIBIT AT LA QUINTA MUSEUM

La Quinta, CA - On Earth to Stay, an exhibit planned in recognition of Native American Heritage month will run November 6 through December 12, 2009 at La Quinta Museum, 77885 Avenida Montezuma, La Quinta, CA. The exhibit, presented by La Quinta Arts Foundation, La Quinta Historical Society and La Quinta Museum will be accompanied by a series of lectures, demonstrations and events, free to the public. (See full event list below)

The exhibit features an extensive collection of Native American basketry and artifacts from the collections of artist David Salk, along with Salk's contemporary ceramic interpretations of Native American baskets.

A native of Palm Springs, Salk preserves the intricate work of Native American women of the late 1800's and early 1900's by replicating antique basket designs in long lasting high fire pottery. Salk's painstaking research to accurately depict these designshas been recognized by the Museum of National History in Santa Barbara.

Also on display will be photographs and writings of George Wharton James (1858-1923). James was a prolific lecturer and journalist, writing more than forty books and many articles and pamphlets on California and the American Southwest. Characteristics of James' writing included romanticism, an enthusiasm for natural environments, idealization of aboriginal lifeways and health faddism in such works as Basket Makers published in Sunset, A Magazine of the Border, 1901, A Saboba Origin-Myth (1902), Through Ramona's Country (1909) and James' most venerated work The Wonders of the Colorado Desert (1906).

The exhibit is open all regular hours of the museum, Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 4pm. For more information or reservations, call 760-777-7170

Special Events are as follows:

06 November - Opening Reception 5 pm to 7 pm
Southern California Bird Singers perform traditional songs of the Desert Cahuilla people. Meet Artist David Salk and Coachella Valley resident Dennis Wharton James, descendant of George Wharton James.

07 November - 10 am to 12 noon Lecture and Native American Basketry Demonstration by Alice Kotzen, noted artist and author. Limited to 30, reservations required to 777-7170.

12 November - 5 pm to 6 pm "Mukat's People: The Story of the Cahuilla" by Ginger Ridgway, Curator/Director of Programs, Aqua Caliente Cultural Museum.

19 November - 5 pm to 6 pm "Literary Bounty in an Arid Land: the weave of Coachella Valley geography, Cahuilla culture, and desert art in the writings of George Wharton James." Lecture/discussion by Ruth M. Nolan, M.A. Associate Professor of English, College of the Desert.

03 December - 10:30 am to 12 noon "A Taste of the Desert" by Tracy Albrecht, Interpretive Specialist, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.


La Quinta Arts Foundation (LQAF), a non-profit organization with a 28 year history of Promoting and Cultivating the Arts, also presents the nationally renowned La Quinta Arts Festival. www. LQAF.com.

La Quinta Historical Society, founded in 1984, is a volunteer, nonprofit service organization, dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich, multicultural history of La Quinta. www.laquintahistorical.com.

La Quinta Museum opened in May of 2008 and is owned by the City of La Quinta and managed by Library Systems and Services, Inc. The La Quinta Museum is a cultural hub for the city of La Quinta, providing exhibits and programs to the public relating to history, art and science. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 77-885 Avenida Montezuma, La Quinta, CA 92253, 760-777-7170