It would seem nothing can kill Art in the High Desert.

That may sound an odd statement considering its absence since it was last held in 2019, when it still called the Old Mill District its home and was ranked 12th in the nation for sales. That was followed by a tune you surely know by heart by now — the COVID-19 shutdowns of 2020 and 2021.

That latter year, Carla and Dave Fox also announced their understandable intention to step down from the show they’d founded and led for 12 years. Carla is a working artist herself — look for her jewelry and booth at this year’s show — and 12 years is a long time to helm a prestigious art show. With no new leadership waiting in the wings, Art in the High Desert failed to return to the west bank of the Deschutes in 2022, too.

Now for the good news: The signs of life are written all over Art in the High Desert’s return to full and vibrant life this weekend, with a new home for the widely hailed art show, the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, where you can buy from and interact with the artists starting at 10 a.m. Friday through Sunday.

Make that 140 artists, according to Executive Director David Bjurstrom, who’s also new, other than the fact that as a professional artist, he’d been juried into AHD most of its 12 years of life. The Corvallis artist’s incredible wildlife, still and landscape drawings land him in shows all over the country. (In 2019, there were 117 artists in AHD.)

“It’s such a high-level group of artists that are here. We get people coming from across the country, and they’re really at the top of their game,” said Bjurstrom, whose hiring AHD announced in the fall. 

“The work that we have in this show, I would put up against any show that I do anywhere in the country. I think it’s a level that is just the best that you’re going to see anywhere, and I’m really proud of what we put together.”

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On top of its three-year absence, Art in the High Desert is moving to a new home, which “does make me a little bit nervous,” Bjurstrom. “It’s always a risk when you’re moving a very successful event to a new location. That was my huge hesitation. I really, early on, kind of felt like, no, we couldn’t do it — until I had the opportunity to visit the site with Carla Fox. We walked in and realized it was absolutely the perfect location for the show.

“Getting people up there is the next issue,” he said. “There’s considerable community excitement that I’ve been aware of. People are talking about it. People are glad the show is coming back. I think, to a certain degree, the show was so loved that people had been missing it, and hearing that it’s back will get them to take the 20-minute drive north.” 

Once there, admission and parking are free, and there’s no pressure to buy anything, Bjurstrom. 

“You come there, and you can see the work by a huge array of artists, and a wide range of work,” he said. 

This being his first year running AHD, “I’ve learned skills that I had no idea I had in putting this together. It’s definitely been learning as I go. I’ve found out a lot about myself,” Bjurstrom said. “It’s going to be a little bit of a letdown when it’s over.” 

But he won’t be taking a break, at least not yet: Bjurstrom has a booth at Art in the Pearl the following weekend in Portland. 

“The weekend after that, I’m in St. Louis, at the St. Louis Art Fair,” he said, laughing. “It’s the beginning of a really crazy period right now. After we’re done with St. Louis, then yeah, I’m taking a break.”

What: 2023 Art in the High Desert

When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday

Where: Deschutes County fairgrounds, 3800 SE Airport Way, Redmond 

Cost: Free admission and parking

Contact: artinthehighdesert.com