2019 Coachella fest art installation Sarbalé Ke will be displayed in Indio for 10 years

Ricardo Lopez | Palm Springs Desert Sun

Indio’s Dr. Carreon Park will become the next home for Sarbalé Ke, the large-scale art installation that first debuted at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival earlier this year.

The Indio City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a 10-year-loan agreement with Goldenvoice, which owns the art piece by the Berlin-based architect Francis Kéré.

The installation consists of 12 pieces that are constructed of wood and steel. They stand at varying heights, between 9 and 49 feet tall. Indio city staff said the large-scale installation will be the first of its size in the eastern Coachella Valley – even if only 9 of the 12 pieces will be on loan to the city.

The interactive exhibit, fashioned in Kéré’s signature style using geometric shapes, will provide shade to visitors and beautify the area. Kéré is currently a professor at Yale.

Sarbalé Ke translates to “the House of Celebration” in Moore, a language spoken in parts of Burkina Faso, Kéré’s native country and a small nation in Africa. The piece was inspired by the Burkinabè baobab tree and is intended to be an exploration of the inner world of the tree.

In recent years, Coachella Valley cities have purchased or entered long-term loan agreements to display large-scale art installations. The city of Coachella, for instance, purchased a smaller piece of "Etherea," a collection of three translucent cathedrals made out of wire mesh, identical in shape, but built in proportionally different sizes.

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The "Etherea" piece is now permanently displayed at the intersection of Cesar Chavez and Sixth streets in downtown Coachella.

The Indio proposal first came before the Indio Public Art and Historic Preservation Committee in September.

A staff report estimated the installation costs to be $308,000 and estimates annual maintenance costs of nearly $27,000. The art, as prepared for display in Indio, is valued at $400,000.

Ricardo Lopez covers the eastern Coachella Valley cities of Indio and Coachella. Reach him at Ricardo.Lopez@DesertSun.com or 760-778-4637.