The Fifth Element Street Art Show Review & Laurie Weitz Interview

 Palm Springs is an awesome place. It’s a rare oasis where you can be satisfied to simply smile and just vibe on the feeling of being alive. The sun is always shining, the weather is warm and a chaise lounge with a cold cocktail is never far away. If you want to paint a portrait of pure leisure, Palm Springs serves as the perfect backdrop. 

 Cool as it is, Palm Springs is not the first location that comes to mind for a street art show featuring some of Los Angeles’ heaviest hitting street artists. A warehouse in the Arts District, an abandoned building downtown or even one of L.A.’s most fashionable galleries such as LabArt or Thinkspace would seem more likely, but then again, art is about breaking boundaries.

 Enter Laurie Weitz, Dimitri Halkidis and Eddie Donaldson.

 Weitz, Halkidis and Donaldson are the master minds behind The Fifth Element: The Golden Era of Street Art, an exhibition of street art at Halkidis’ Gallery 446 of Palm Springs curated by Weitz and Donaldson. The show, which opened Saturday, September 28, featured some of L.A.’s finest, including Mear One, Curtis Kulig, Cryptik, David Flores, Annie Preece, Defer, Motel, Sebastien Walker, Gregory Siff and Skyler Grey. 

 The show featured several, eye-catching originals from each artist masterfully chosen, arranged and hung beautifully in the Gallery 446. The gallery was a perfect space conducive to producing an intimate environment for art enthusiasts to view remarkable work and to mingle with other fans, the participating artists and the curators. Simply put, it was great show with a great vibe, which cannot be said for all art shows.

 I was behind on hearing about this show, but as soon as I saw the flyer for it, I cancelled my weekend plans, booked a room at the Saguaro and hauled ass out to the desert. A must see line up, and a chance to indulge in the aforementioned sun, pool time and cocktails made this show an easy sell. 

 Again, one would not readily consider Palm Springs as a location to seek out something as urban and gritty as street art. Case in point, the closet thing to street art in Palm Springs is a giant, 26-foot-tall, statue of Marilyn Monroe, which isn’t my definition of the art form. Furthermore, the city is so devoid of graffiti I’m half convinced that they have developed those automated robots from the movie Demolition Man (one of 1993’s greatest cinematic accomplishments) that immediately buff out tags as soon as they’re thrown up. 

 However unlikely, the migration of street art to Palm Springs creates an intriguing dynamic. It’s not the expected, metropolitan environment normally associated with this particular genre of art, but people like Laurie Weitz have the attitude and swagger enough to say who cares. The city should be grateful for Weitz and company because when you think about it Palm Springs is actually a great fit for the street art scene.

 The city already has a solid art community. There are a ton of galleries and a built in attitude supportive of arts. It is primed with art culture; it just needs a slight nudge toward street art and graffiti. The Fifth Element show is that nudge, and it serves as a great opportunity to introduce street art and graffiti to a new audience and to further educate people about its purpose, its importance and its legacy.

 Often times underground or cult movements can be damaged by their rise to popular culture, especially if the wrong people and/or companies get involved, but it’s fair to say that this mission is in good hands with Laurie Weitz and her network of Palm Springs art advocates.

 Also, let it be said that this is not a group of rich and famous people trying to buy into the next hip thing. It’s an enthusiastic group of influential and connected people who are truly appreciative of the art form, the movement and the culture of street art. More importantly, they are eager to educate and build a much-deserved appreciation for a legit art form that is often misinterpreted and misunderstood. Congrats and respect to Laurie, Dimitri, Eddie and Gallery 446. Now check out our exclusive interview with Laurie Weitz. 

The Fifth Element street art show at Gallery 446 in Palm Springs was a huge success. What is the story behind how the show came about?

It started with a small seed I planted with Dimitri Halkidis of Gallery 446 over cocktails one evening. I really wanted to do something that had never been done in Palm Springs before but wasn’t exactly sure what that was. With that it became the brainchild of Dimitri Halkidis & Eddie Donaldson.

A street art show in Palm Springs seems like a big deal. What does this mean for the city?

There is much more to come! I feel honored to have had members of our city not only attend our opening but additionally show such support and interest in these artists. My husband and I along with Dimitri and Eddie are collaborating on beautification projects with the city as well as local and corporate businesses here. We have an incredible vision ahead of us. I see a groundbreaking art festival different from anything we have seen before that would not only boost revenue and tourism but also provide education around the arts and inspire every burgeoning artist.

What does the future of the Palm Springs art scene look like?

The Palm Springs art scene is fast becoming a destination source for art enthusiasts and collectors. The valley is rich with local talent and we are now attracting talent from New York, Los Angeles as well as other cities across the United States and Globally. What this means for the Palm Springs art community is that every gallery, every artist as well as our museum is elevated. 

The artist line up for the Fifth Element show included a lot of heavy hitters. How were you able to woo such big-time talent?

I think that because of the quality of the previous shows that I have been fortunate enough to be a part of both myself and Dimitri Halkidis of Gallery 446 have been able to establish strong credibility. This is in addition to forging long-standing relationships within the art world.

Curating an art show can be an art form in and of itself. Can you tell us about your approach? 

It starts with design, artistic flow and ultimately to tell a story. Group shows are extremely challenging because consistent design and flow really do not exist. So it starts as we begin to choose both artists as well as specific pieces of work. I love the creative process.

A ton of work goes into organizing and hanging a show. How do you execute this in such a seamless, and seemingly effortless, manner?

I could never take all the credit because it’s all about the team. From an unbelievably supportive husband and family, to the people at the charities we benefit, to the companies that help sponsor these events, and finally Dimitri’s utter devotion.

Proceeds from the show benefit boo2bullying.org.  Can you tell us a little about this organization?

Boo2bullying is about artists awakening the world to the problems of hate and intolerance, and encouraging our youth to speak out. In addition to bringing awareness and to help educate around this subject the organization also provides a safe haven for young kids at festivals such as gay pride. They create and provide aesthetically beautiful booths for the kids to hang out.

Can you tell us a little about Gallery 446?

Dimitri opened Gallery 446 a little over 4 years ago as a working studio and gallery. It is really almost two gallery’s in one and with the high ceilings and vast wall space it enables us to hang almost mural size pieces of art. The gallery is located in a Donald Wexler historical building in a unique part of our town known as the financial district, which is just south of the downtown plaza.

What is your professional background and your experience in the art world?

After I graduated from UCLA and in a very short period of time I had built and sold my first business. This experience was the corner stone that propelled me into a successful entrepreneurial career. My husband recently sold our last business in 2010 and are now looking for our next great endeavor.

I have been a longtime patron of the arts and actually purchased my very first piece of art at ten years old. I have always felt very lucky because my parents exposed and encouraged my brother and I to experience many different elements of the art world.

Who are your favorite artists and what pieces do you have in your collection?

I have a very vast and diverse taste in art so I can’t actually name a favorite however I will say that at the top of my list would be Diego Rivera, Eduardo Abela, Rothco, Matisse, Chuck Close and Dali. As far as my personal collection we have adopted out or donated most of our previous collection so we could show case emerging artists in our Palm Springs home. My husband recently found a passion for abstract expressionism, and while he builds his inventory for others to enjoy I am loving the fact that some of his work currently hangs in our home. In fact I keep claiming many pieces as our own.

Gallery 446 Backdrop Photo(s) Credit: Dimitri Halkidis | U.P.A.