Alex Melton

Throwing Shade reimagines festival art as essential community infrastructure, addressing the stark contrast between Coachella’s elaborate temporary installations and nearby farmworker communities lacking basic heat protection. At the festival, the project appears as a cube-shaped structure of four solar-powered LED screens that display thermal imaging and provide shade that tracks the sun. 

Festival-goers experience an immersive artwork that subtly highlights regional heat disparities. After the event, the structure separates into four individual sun-tracking screens, each permanently installed in underserved communities like Oasis, where summer temperatures often exceed 110°F (43°C) and median household income is less than half that of Palm Desert. 

Each unit continues to provide vital shade and displays community programming and climate education. By distributing these resources across multiple sites, Throwing Shade offers a replicable model for how cultural events can support climate adaptation and public health in vulnerable areas

Collaborators:

Ted Hamilton-Rolle AICP, Project Planner, City of Santa Barbara, Local Consultant

Jenna Hamilton-Rolle, Director of Education & Community Engagement, University of California, Santa Barbara – Arts & Lectures, Local Consultant

Patrick O’Mahony, Founder & Creative Director, Newsubstance, Consultant

Adrian Isais, Coachella Content Photographer & Videographer

Xavier Llarch Font, Lead Tutor

Creative Cohort - Daphne Chantzi, Vanessa Pessato, Laura Gonzalez Urueta, Stella Wang, Weiyi Liu, Yutong Zhou