Desert X has returned to California’s Coachella Valley with 13 site-specific art installations that explore the desert as both a place and an idea. The exhibited works look at the conditions, environment and indigenous communities of desert locations as well as the social, cultural and political contexts that shape our stories past, present and future.

Curated by Desert X artistic director Neville Wakefield and co-curator César García-Alvarez, Desert X 21 includes works by such celebrated artists as Eduardo Sarabia, Oscar Murillo and Nicholas Galanin.

Standout exhibits include Zahrah Alghamdi’s What Lies Behind the Walls, a monumental free-standing wall comprised of stacked material forms that reference the histories and cultures of the places from which they originate; and The Wishing Well by the Ghanaian artist Serge Attukwei Clottey.

Draped with sheets of woven pieces of yellow plastic Kufuor gallons, vessels introduced by Europeans and used by the people of Ghana to transport water, it addresses the urgent issue of water scarcity — both in Ghana and Palm Springs — as well as the legacies of empire in Africa.

The desert-spanning biennial runs until 16 May — and can also be explored online. Outdoor, thought-provoking and free, this is art for our times. (But yes, you will need a car if navigating IRL.)