ABOUT THE FOUNDATION

On a mission to advance and sustain the arts in the Coachella Valley, La Quinta Arts Foundation supports locally based artists at every phase of their education and professional development.

Founded in 1982, the foundation is best known for its signature La Quinta Arts Festival, which ran annually for 36 years, growing art sales from $35,000 in 1983 to $3.4 million in 2019. The festival’s success gave LQAF the grounding to create a variety of popular and successful cultural events and programs in the city, including Art Under the Umbrellas, La Quinta Blues & Brews, Splendor in the Glass, and Art on the Plaza at La Quinta Resort, as well as a long list of community exhibitions and tours — and even another art festival: Desert Plein Air.

Today, LQAF continues its Fred and Kay Wolff Scholarship Fund, named for the city’s first mayor and his wife, who were great supporters of the foundation and the festival. During the COVID-19 pandemic, LQAF stepped up to fund the research and development for the new Digital Arts and Media Certification Program at College of the Desert — and sponsored the first cohort. LQAF also supports other initiatives that promote and cultivate the arts in the Coachella Valley.

• Frank Delany, Chairman
• Jeff Stahl
• Phillip Waller

Kristen Dolan joined La Quinta Arts Foundation as managing director in 2021 following a decade of service with the Coachella Valley nonprofit organizations Operation Safehouse, OneFuture Coachella Valley, and most recently United Way of the Desert, where she was director of external affairs. In each of these roles, Kristen was responsible for telling the organizations’ stories with the objective of educating the public and inspiring giving and investment. In 2022, the Pennsylvania native and Nova Southeastern University graduate was promoted to executive director of La Quinta Arts Foundation. Today, she is laser-focused on advocating for and connecting resources for the arts and culture community and creating opportunities for talented young people on their trajectory in the Coachella Valley’s creative economy.