Outdoor museum, dedicated to showing the work of Noah Purifoy, a late 20th century LA artist who spent the last years of his life on this property, making sculptures out of recycled everyday materials. His workshop and living trailer are still there, surrounded by his artwork. The grounds are unfenced, and there is a dedicated parking area on both side of the dirt ride, towards the West part of the exhibit (coming from the East, important to keep going until you see a small parking area on the south part of the road...otherwise, you will be parking on private property.) You can get up close and personal, and touch whatever you like (since it's part of how the exhibit's age). But it can also be dangerous, with many pokey and sharp things, so need to watch out while wandering. Art is a subjective thing, and I would not have guessed that I would have enjoyed his exhibit as much as I did (especiallyl the exhibits involving bowling balls and/or toilets as the main materials). But as I continued to look at his pieces, kept wondering 'What was he thinking?....How did he envision this would look 20 years after creation, as the desert enveloped?', both from an overall macro level, but also from a detailed, day-to-day accomplishment perspective. The setting of the desert is as integral as the recycled material itself. And I couldn't help but think...'is this what a end-of-the-world scenario would look like?'. And as certain parts of the exhibit degrades, will the foundation fix it...or is that the natural progression of his art? There is a handout near the entrance that tells the fascinating story of the artist's life. It's well worth reading. read more

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This place is awesome! It's an outdoor art gallery of large sculptures and installations out in the middle of the desert. You have to drive out a little, but it's located in a neighborhood with a couple houses so close by, there are signs telling you it's private property. You can spend quite some time out here, immersing yourself in the artwork. My favorite is the toilet temple. It's built out of toilets, and you can walk through the archway made out of toilets. There are multiple structures built that you can walk through and feel as though you are walking through a place that is forbidden, including a shack, complete with bed and clothes hanging on a line. The artwork spans decades. He's a prolific artist. The majority of the sculptures have cables holding them down, so you have to be careful not to trip on them accidentally when walking up close, I'd you're not paying attention. I highly recommend visiting this place. Admission is free! Parking: Plenty of free designated parking. read more

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It's a free walk-through junkyard exhibit in Joshua Tree. My child and hubs especially liked walking through the toilet house. We got some amazing pictures. What else are you waiting for? The exhibit is outdoor and is free but visitors can give a donation via Paypal / Venmo QR codes. It may not be super accessible for folks on wheels, and maynot be super safe for toddlers and runners. One exhibit house had broken glass as part of the design. You will be driving through a bit of dirt road before getting here. read more

I think the best thing about this place is seeing how art speaks to us in very different ways. Every piece was unique and before we got to read the name of the piece, we tried to decipher what we interpreted from it. Sometimes we were spot on and sometimes we were way off. It's interesting to see how everyone has their own individuality when it comes to our vision or perspectives. There was a lot of emotions from pieces being super cool or super sad. I think the shelter and the toilet drinking fountain really stood out to me. Bring comfortable shoes and stay hydrated. Keep in mind that there's a lot of cacti and fire ants and possibly snakes or spiders so just be mindful of the desert and keep safe. read more

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Off the beaten path. Didn't know what to y. Art is Ana was made from recycled materials. Very abstract with some cool pieces and others I wasn't too sure of. Definitely go and check it out. read more

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+ Intriguing junkyard art museum. Scraps compiled to form displays to stroke the curiosity. + Free to park at and browse. . There was little crowd when I visited on a Monday around noon. - No water or restrooms out here, so prepare beforehand. - Almost no shade here. . No staff on-site. read more

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Funky free outdoor museum/little "hike". Love reading every piece's titles. There's parking and I don't think there's a restroom here. read more

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My husband enjoyed this much more than I did, so just remember when reading this that art is a personal experience and I'm sure many people's opinions will differ from mine. I walked back to the car after about 7 minutes, but he spent another 20 to 30 walking around the grounds at least. Don't get me wrong, we have seen many desert art installations and some of them are absolutely breathtaking and interesting and unique, but to me personally, this just looked like a lot of junk without any real theme or message or concept. Most of it seems poorly executed and it's definitely not well maintained. It says it's good for dogs but there is broken glass and all kinds of garbage on the ground so I definitely don't recommend bringing your pup. My personal opinion this is one that is not worth the stop. read more

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Very cool spot to visit in Joshua Tree. Leave a donation and walk around at your leisure. There are some cool pieces here! read more

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Such a fun and inspiring place to wander and wonder and just be. I enjoyed every minute.

A vast collection of outdoor art pieces using found or ordinary objects. It is impressive that one person made all of these fascinating artworks. Very cool stop to walk around for about 30 minutes if you're in the yucca or Pioneer town area. read more

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This was a very unique place. I was in the area, looking for things to do and this place popped up on Yelp. It was ... interesting. In the middle of the desert, you can find this art installation. I have never seen anything like this before. Some installations were disturbing; others were thought provoking. If you're bored and in the area, you might want to check it out. There are other art installations in the area that you can check out as well, if you find yourself in JT. read more

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Nice desert walk to see his art and dogs are welcome. It was wonderful. No entrance fee, but please consider a donation to keep it up and running. read more

Review #900 I had a friend tell me to check this place out when I was visiting Joshua Tree. It's a bit of a drive from Yucca Valley, but very interesting to see. The road leading into this place is a little bumpy and goes through a residential area. Noah Purifoy was an African American assemblage sculptor and visual artist. He spent the last fifteen years of his life assembling this place. This 10-acre outdoor museum contains over one hundred works of art made of tries, bathroom fixtures, broken TVs, ragged clothes and toys. It resembles a salvage yard. The Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Art is free to visit but accepts donations. There are brochures onsite for a self-guided tour. Guided tours must be booked in advance for groups. I took a couple hours to walk through this place. Each of these pieces of art tell a story. I'm a big art and museum nerd and found this place both unique and quirky. I came in the summer and it was a little warm. So bring water if you come during that time of the year as it gets pretty hot during the day. Also wear closed toe shoes. This outdoor museum maintained and preserved by the Noah Purifoy Foundation. read more

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Optional when visiting Joshua Tree, go there only if you have time to spare. Full of weird sculptures. I think kids would enjoy it more, and maybe art enthusiasts. For me it was nice, not more. The road there is a bit bumpy but any car would do fine. read more

Awesome place. Really interesting. Free parking, free admission (donations encouraged and accepted) read more

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Wear closed toed shoes as you'll be walking in the desert sand. If you bring kids, note that there's lots of sharp and rusty stuff. Oh, and that standing straight up Catamaran is full of buzzing bees. End of safety notes.. That said, wander about a man's life's work and see what comes out. Seeing rows of old dishwashers and abandoned yarn and yellowed cassette tapes made me conscious of how much we throw away and don't think twice about.... read more

Noah Purifoy Foundation - Toilet sculpture - Art Museums Near Me - Joshua Tree, California

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Pros: * Free * Creative * Parking available * Thought provoking Cons: * N/A Extra: * Look at the website before going; you need backstory to truly understand the pieces * Self Guided * Open every day from dawn to dusk read more

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What a fun place to visit... it's a visual experience seeing this quirky place in the desert and its free (suggested donation) read more

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Probably best suited for those that appreciate art. Interesting place but my family are not art enthusiasts so it wasn't a big hit for us. It was recommended by friends so we tried it while in the area. Parking is available and our dog was with us so we appreciated that convenience. read more

Worth the trip! My kids and I all enjoyed the experience and would bring others in the future so they could take it all in as well. read more

Noah Purifoy Foundation - Art Museums Near Me - Joshua Tree, California

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Was in Joshua Tree recently and we had the family dog with us so upon researching dog friendly places online I discovered this outdoor art gallery. You for sure can take your dog but beware of the cactus' that like to cling to dogs and of course be mindful of heat when you go. If the sand is hot put some shoes on your dog! Now for the exhibits. I'm not quite sure what to make of all the art that I saw but it sure was interesting to look at and made you realize how much junk us humans accumulate and where is junk going if it's not being repurposed for art? While I enjoyed the creativity it sort of made me sad to go through and realize just how much junk us humans put out in the world. I guess maybe the visit was a success like all good museums as it got me thinking! read more

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It's something you just have to go see in Joshua tree and not go again. There was some interesting pieces and some that were kind of creepy. I don't think I have the artsy eye to fully appreciate the creativity beauty of all of them. But you just gotta go when in Joshua. Scratch the itch of curiosity! read more

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A free and enjoyable reclaimed material art display in the middle of the desert. To some it may look like junk, but there is definitely an element of real art to many of the pieces. It's worth seeing considering the fact of how unique it is and definitely something that represents the quirky Joshua Tree and surrounding crowd. It can get very warm so I would advise against bringing dogs however, they are allowed. They should have paw covers at very least but again it can get very warm out there so something to be aware of. There is plenty of parking right out front and the road there is paved a majority of the distance. I would recommend that everyone see it at least once. read more

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I know that "art" is different to everyone but this place is just an organized junk yard. I'm sorry no offense to the late Noah but most of the items look like trash. I would not go out of your way to visit this place as it's quite depressing. read more

Totally worth the 2 hour drive from OC. It's a free outdoor art museum in Joshua Tree that's open to the public from morning til dusk. We went on a Sunday and there was not a lot of people. The drive there can be bumpy on the dirt road, park in the shade adjacent from the yard, take a pamphlet before heading in and enjoy the whimsical art pieces. Definitely gets cold this time of year so bring a jacket, and since it's the desert bring a hat for sun protection and sunglasses to avoid those wind gusts getting dust in your eyes. read more

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Super eclectic spot. Kind of what you expect, but even weirder. Spent an hour here with the kids who explored and talked about how different forms of art can be. Interactive in that they can touch and be in. Some moving parts. Def recommend, even if just for a short walk through. read more

Noah Purifoy Foundation - Art Museums Near Me - Joshua Tree, California

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I've always enjoyed stopping here after a visit to Joshua Tree, it's only a 10 min drive out of the park,on the west side. It's free but they also take donations through Venmo. These art installations sadly are crumbling as they are not being maintained, so go see them while they last! The desert sun has weathered them all in such a way it's almost as interesting to see that process as it is the art installations. It's a small area & quick tour BUT don't miss the many details in every section. It's also a great place for a photo shoot but check if you need a permit. Travel safe read more

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parking was limited. there were a ton of art pieces to see. the art pieces were very interesting to say the least. definitely worth the stop! read more

Noah Purifoy Foundation - Art Museums Near Me - Joshua Tree, California

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To get to the museum, you'll have to drive a lot on the dirt road and it gets bumpy. Make sure to follow the signs, as when we did Google, it ended in the middle of nowhere. There will be a sign pointing you to where to go. The museum is definitely interesting and unique. I didn't get a tour, but I would think the story behind the art is interesting. Tip(s): - Look for the Museum signs - You'll be driving on dirt roads and it gets bumpy - It's free to visit read more

Such a cool art exhibit! Spent a decent amount of time here and would highly recommend visiting while in Joshua Tree.

This is a cool outdoor museum that you can stop by at your leisure. They have a box of maps so you can peruse at your own pace. There is plenty to wander around and view but it's not massive, I can't see anyone spending more than an hour or so here. Admission is free, but they do accept donations. I ended up reading about Noah Purifoy and some of the work after the fact which helped provide context to what I had seen earlier. I would definitely recommend reading a bit about his pieces and the meaning behind his work before coming so you can have a better understanding if you are like me and casually enjoy art. Personally, this style of using found materials is sometimes hard for me to fully embrace without some background. Overall it's a neat stop when in Joshua Tree and I'm glad we decided to check it out. It wasn't too crowded midday on a Friday during COVID 19. A couple of people, us included, were wearing face masks but we were able to distance from those who were not. read more

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What an eclectic, ethereal, surreal and totally random collection of the most unique "art"! Were it not for the #localadventurechallenge, I never would've known this place existed lol! It is quite a ways out into the desert...and you will drive on a small bit of bumpy, unpaved dirt road so be careful if you have a low car. There's several parking spots along a chain link fence in front of the entrance - it looks like you're parking in front of someone's house but there are signs telling you to park there for the art museum. It's free to enter. The website says to check in at the welcome center (?) but I didn't see anything that looked like a welcome center, not did I see any other people around until more visitors came as I was leaving. The museum is a vast wasteland of random art pieces, almost entirely made out of what looked like garbage and discarded machinery, computers, toilets, chairs, crosses, car parts, boat parts, bits of wood, and even old pairs of jeans and boots haha! There aren't any bathrooms so I suggest to stop in the town of Yucca Valley on your way in (or out) of the area...it had plenty of places to stop! All in all it was a very weird and interesting visit that left me scratching my head and thinking "ok wth did I just see?" as I got back in my car lol! Glad I did it! read more

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It was a nice experience! My four year old had fun exploring. It's free and enough parking for a Wednesday afternoon. read more

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I'm into this stuff and this was on my way back to the main road, but I wouldn't go out of my way. Cool exhibits but I only stayed for a few minutes. There was no one else here when I showed up around 10:30 am which is kind of nice. read more

Noah Purifoy Foundation - Art Museums Near Me - Joshua Tree, California

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What an awesomely weird and amazing place to visit in the desert. Really fun and interesting to trek around the different sculptures. We enjoyed scanning the QR codes and seeing the changes to the pieces over time. Definitely worth the trip. Some slightly bumpy dirt road on the way. read more

Let me just saw - wow! My mother and I came here both being artists ourselves and I found a lot of the pieces so inspiring, interesting and thought provoking. I definitely recommend reading up on Noah Purifoys life before entering as having some backstory adds context to some of the pieces, but overall I was very impressed with the use of shapes and lines with the desert landscape. I'm very impressed and this will definitely be a spot I bring friends when we are in town! read more

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I'm not much of an art person and found art is something I can't get my head around completely so, take what I say for what it is: thoughts of someone who came here because it came up on a list of things to do near Joshua Tree. It's definitely a bit further off the beaten path where the roads are no longer paved, keep going and you honestly can't miss it. There's free parking and a donation box as well as some brochures for a self-guided tour. I could see some of the value and aesthetics of some of the pieces and during our visit some of the works were being refurbished and off limits, although it was hard to determine one from the other. There were definitely a few pieces that I thought were pretty hazardous and could use a little upkeep besides the ones that were being rehabbed and seemed fine. The brochure had a map with that showed the individual pieces but the way it was laid out made it hard to distinguish one from the other, so it made the tour a quick one and also left us unsure if it was worth the drive out. read more

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This is definitely a photo place to go. There are so many pieces of art work to see. Getting there is in a residential area and some roads are bumpy so, it is best if you have a 4-wheel drive car. There is a place to donate as well since it is an art museum. read more

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I'm not really an art person, a lot of times I dont really know what I'm looking at unless there's an explanation. However, I still enjoyed my trip here since a lot of the sculpture are interesting to me. The entire space looked like a small village to me because of all the different type of buildings. A theater, bed room, computer room, cemetery etc I read the brochure and it explained that Noah constructed entirely from junked materials. I do see a lot of toilets that's for sure! Next time I will definitely sign up for a guided tour because I understand the artist is trying to express something through the scraps, because none of the art looked pretty, I think he made it look strange and dark on purpose. But for now they just look like a bunch of random material put together to me haha. However, I give it 5 stars because it is quite big and there are a lot to see here, it definitely had enough sculpture to be consider a museum of some sort and its free so cant complain There's no cover or shading area, so be prepared to be out in the hot sun for 1 hour+ read more

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