This Philadelphia Art Collective Is Coming to Phoenix's Desert Botanical Garden

Desert Botanical Garden will present a new large-scale exhibition of light and sound in October 2018. It's titled “Electric Desert | A Light and Sound Experience by Klip Collective.”

Desert Botanical Garden announced the news in a Tuesday, February 27, press release. Specific dates for the eight-month exhibition are still pending.

Founded in Philadelphia in 2003, the collective creates immersive art experiences using virtual reality, video projections, and soundscapes.

The nighttime exhibition will feature six site-specific works placed throughout the garden. Specific locations include the Entry Garden, Cactus and Succulent Galleries, and Sonoran Desert Loop Trail.
Access to the exhibition will not be included with general garden admission. Ticket and cost details will be announced in May.

This is Klip Collective’s second garden installation. The group's first was “Nightscape,” which was on view at Philadelphia's Longwood Gardens until October 2016.

Creative director Ricardo Rivera says they’re looking forward to working in a desert setting.

“I think the most exciting thing about the desert environment is really the forms and the color,” Rivera says in the release.

Desert Botanical Garden has previously presented several significant exhibitions in outdoor spaces, including “Philip Haas: The Four Seasons,” which ran from October 2012 to April 2013, and two exhibitions featuring works by glass artist Dale Chihuly.

The “Sonoran Light” exhibition that closed in May 2016 featured eight large-scale, light-based installations by British artist Bruce Munro. Currently, the garden is showing large-scale ceramic work by Jun Kaneko. That exhibition runs through May 13, 2018.

The garden has also presented an outdoor exhibitions by Arizona-based artists Carolina Escobar. And the garden is home to an indoor exhibition space called the Ottosen Gallery, where featured artists have included Larry Kornegay and Dyana Hesson.

Now, Desert Botanical Garden is gearing up for “Electric Desert.”

“We cannot wait to see how Ricardo transforms our desert plants that will lead our guests with an experiential visit through the desert,” says Ken Schutz, executive director for the garden.