It’s not an art moment—it’s an art movement.

Little can be said about the art fair that is bringing life and permanent installations to a California desert town; it has to be experienced. L&rsquo;Officiel USA got an exclusive look into this year&rsquo;s enigmatic event.

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Tickets are limited to 500 select people who volunteer time, resources, or skill to the development and setup of the weekend. The large-scale art installations amid an irregularly occurring body of water are almost a quantum mechanical mystery. All that can be said for sure is that in the presence of greatness, attendees of the biennale become entangled by the sheer awareness of it all, a fact so abruptly unifying that it temporarily wipes out all distinctions between people.

The self-financed weekend&rsquo;s programming included a ballet performance, opera, a drive-in movie theater, and art openings by Moral Turgeman, Daniel Dugan, Randy Polumbo, Olivia Steele, Marco Walker, and dozens of other artists. Works on canvas hang in Bombay Beach&rsquo;s own Hermitage Museum. Fans of Stranger Things might equate some of the experiences to &ldquo;the upside down&rdquo; of creative expression. Multiple beach clubs and bars serving Gem &amp; Bolt mezcal cocktails are set-up along the shores of the decaying Salton Sea: a meeting of luxury and macabre. Even the name &ldquo;biennale&rdquo; denotes a bi-annual fair; however, in Bombay Beach, the biennale takes place every year on an unidentified date.

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&ldquo;I love everyone here. This is amazing for the town,&rdquo; said a nearby resident woman named Shorty. Artists and locals regularly come together for presentations and Bloody Marys at a local bar wallpapered in one-dollar bills and once reviewed by Anthony Bourdain, The Ski Inn. It becomes unclear at which precise moment event-goers tip slightly out of alignment with the relative normality theretofore and immerse in the new customs. Beyond a 3-day celebration, Bombay Beach Biennale reflects the creative work and programming of metropolitans bringing a renaissance to a once-dilapidated community. It is a mirror of unremitting ingenuity and cultural impact, all at once.

A sunrise opera Sunday morning marked the end of the weekend, but for first-time attendees, the beginning of so much else.

Installations and artwork from Bombay Beach Biennale 2019 is open to the public on view year-round in Bombay Beach, California

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Inside North America’s Far-Out Art Fair, Bombay Beach Biennale

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Inside North America’s Far-Out Art Fair, Bombay Beach Biennale

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