18-hole golf, a keynote speaker whose work has broken the Architects’ Glass Ceiling, an exclusive tour of Queer Eye Interior designer Bobby Burke’s Palm Desert Ranch and programming celebrating Black History Month are among the new events joining the strong Modernism Week 2022 schedule from February 17-27.
For the first time during the event, visitors can tour the Shadow Mountain area of Palm Desert (with homes for Albert Frye Frey, William Kressel, and Walter White), and eclectic mid-century homes at Magnesia Falls Cove in Rancho Mirage, the boutique community of 1960s Calypso Palms in Palm Springs, and “hidden gems” in Indian Wells, including the fully restored Crank-Garland House, also known as “The Lost Cody,” originally designed for Fillmore Crank and actress Beverly Garland by William F. Cody. Finally, the main facade tour features the Spanish-style Casa Tierra in Palm Desert.
Returning favorites include the Premier Double Decker Architectural Bus Tours, Modernism Show & Sale (first weekend), Vintage Travel Trailer Show (second weekend), and Tours of Sunnylands, Frey House II and the famous homes formerly owned by Frank Sinatra and William . Holden, Kirk Douglas and Magda Gabor. The schedule also includes a classic car show, park tours, fashion-related events, walking and biking tours, and a series of talks, including a February 19 keynote presentation by architect Jin Gang, featuring the new 101-story St. Regis Tower. In Chicago it is the tallest building in the world designed by a woman.
Modernity Week 2022 marks Black History Month on February 21 with “Untold Stories: Black Modernists in Southern California,” a three-part panel discussion on Palm Springs’ historic landmarks, and the role that Paul R. Williams in Inspiring Other Black Designers, an outdoor art gallery and proposed park in the Crenshaw area of Los Angeles.
Other talks include Charles Phoenix (February 19), MAD Architects (February 20-21), Josh Agle, aka SHAG (February 20), and Alan Hess (February 26).
The parties are back, too. Among the most famous are the opening party, “Love, Modern Style” (February 17), at the Indian Canyons Golf Resort; The Modernist Show and Sale preview party (February 18) at the Palm Springs Convention Center, and “Saturday Night at Sinatra Estate” (February 19). The estate, designed by E. Stuart Williams in 1947, also hosting “Frank Sinatra’s Twin Palms Homestead Party Celebrating Jane Kelly Through Dance” (February 26), in partnership with Nickerson Russian Dance and Palm Springs International Dance Festival. There will be even more fun at the Retro Martini Party (February 25) on the Ware Estate and the benefits of The Jet Set Party for Modern Palm Springs Committee (February 19) at the Abernathy Residence designed by William Cody.
Modernism Week 2022 CAMP (“Community and Meeting Place”), located at the Hyatt in Palm Canyon in downtown Palm Springs, provides a hub with an information desk, box office, theater merchandise, and activities by sponsors of Modernism Week. The camp will be open daily from 9 am to 6 pm. Free admission. modernismweek.com