Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency Open Studio

The Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency is hosting an open studio event on Sunday, December 14, from 3:30 to 6 p.m., inviting the public to meet current residents and explore their creative processes. This is an opportunity to see works in progress and learn how the Joshua Tree landscape influences and shapes artistic ideas.

Current residents include Fabian Cuauhtecotzin, a visual artist from Mexico City who studied in Germany. During his residency, Cuauhtecotzin has been exploring themes of pilgrimage rooted in personal and cultural journeys. His grandfather asked him before dying to reclaim his identity, which has become central to his artistic practice. Cuauhtecotzin works with painting, wax, pigment, fire, and local sand to create pieces that record both the physical and symbolic presence of the desert.

Maxim Loskutoff, a novelist from the interior West, is returning for his second residency at JTHAR. His work examines how people and places respond to stress and change. He emphasizes the profound impact of the desert's solitude and silence on his creative practice. During this residency, he is focusing on capturing multiple inspirations and producing new work without a predetermined project, planning to read from both new and previously written pieces at the open studio.

The Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency program, established in 2007, offers artists seven weeks of dedicated time, space, and support to deepen their artistic practice while connecting with the local community. The open studio provides visitors with a first look at new paintings, ceramics, notes, and drafts, as well as direct engagement with the artists to discuss how the desert landscape is shaping their creative work.