A-Z West

A-Z West is both a place and it is an artwork by Andrea Zittel. Located on over eighty acres in the California high desert next to Joshua Tree National Park, the compound was conceptualized as an evolving testing ground for living—a place in which spaces, objects, and acts of living would all intertwine into an ongoing investigation into what it means to exist and participate in our culture today. 

“How to live?” and “What gives life meaning?” are core issues in both Zittel’s personal life and artistic practice. Answering these questions entailed exploring complex relationships between our need for freedom, security, autonomy, authority, and control—observing how structure and limitations have the capacity to generate feelings of freedom beyond open-ended choices.

In January of 2022 High Desert Test Sites began to formally steward A-Z West, including the management of day-to-day operations and residencies. The former studio at A-Z West is now home to HDTS administrative offices, a studio store, and weaving and ceramics studios for residents. Tours and Stays are available on an ongoing basis.