How Art Can Help Turn A Festival Into A Wonderland

We take a look at how art installations at a festival can give it a total face lift!

Off late, there has been a very evident change in the festival circuit. More and more festivals have started opting for putting up art installations all over the festival grounds. Once you enter the grounds, you see a wide bevy of varied installations scattered all over the area. They vary in sizes, colors and even in the messages they strive to put across. Your interaction with those pieces of art is not limited either; you can see, touch and even climb on them in some instances. Chances are, you’ve been to at least one festival that has tried to tackle this new approach of making their vibe more artsy.

Now, in the same scenario, if the art was to be removed completely- what difference would that make? Let’s see.

Art, when done right, can bring about a new dimension to the festival as well as the people it directly impacts. In the end, it is pure imagination brought into reality. Art exists because it helps people connect, think and act upon their thoughts. It makes people emote, communicate and express feelings that might be dormant inside of them.

The people behind these magnificent and thought-provoking creations are themselves in this profession because ‘they have to create’. That’s where their salvation comes from. In addition to being extremely stimulating for our personalities as well as for our well-being, art is crucial because it is an important tool for self-expression. The artists behind the pieces are trying their best to sculpt something out of nothing to put, into perspective, their thoughts and opinions on matters that may intrigue them.

One of the biggest and most important message music festivals push out is the coming together of minds and people to experience a feeling of oneness with your fellow companions. People resort to various ways of expressing themselves like dressing up in expansive costumes, over the top makeup and tons of accessories.

You can let go of inhibitions, make new friends, experience new emotions, see your favorite artists live and most of all, just have a jolly good time. Over the past few years, almost all the biggies in the music festival circuit have started to realize the need for inculcating art into their functioning. Recent examples would be Coachella, EDC, Burning Man and Bonnaroo!

Lots of festivals have made it their top priority to put art on the front page of their event schedules. Burning Man, for instance, has taken major steps to push their art game to the forefront over the past 3-4 years. Every year, months in advance, aspiring artists who have a project in mind, take to various crowd funding sites to get people to fund money for their vision. Over the years, the size of the projects that grace the playa have increased manifold.

Once you enter the desert grounds, it would be really hard to cover a few feet without running into new installations. You’ll be treated to people sitting on top of the creations and just pondering about the message and just the sheer magnificence.

Similarly, graffiti festivals like Art Basel and Upfest make showcasing art, the center of the festival itself. Graffiti has always had a bad rep of being frowned upon, but that reputation has worn off now. Artists create some mind-bending yet deeply layered caricatures on the walls of these festivals.

As time passes by, you can be ready to experience this shift to more and more art installations in music festivals all around you. They’ll help inspire you, they’ll amaze you and most of all, they’ll make you think.

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