Music festivals for art lovers

It’s summertime, the ideal season for festival goers considering the number of musical festivals that take place during these 2 months. To create a truly immersive experience, festival organizers turn to artists to design spectacular installations and scenographies. Lights, films, giant sculptures : the ingredients stay the same from one event to another, but the recipes differ a lot. From the psychedelic universe of the Boom Festival to the tradition of experimental performance at Berlin Atonal, these festivals cater to every taste !

#1 BURNING MAN

Each year, over 60,000 people gather in the middle of a desert in Nevada for one week of celebrations centered on community life and artistic expression. Festival goers are encouraged to create installations according to a theme that varies from one year to the next. There is also a specific funds to finance artists that do not have the means to produce their works. In 2006 for instance, 26 pieces were financed by the organizers of Burning Man. Incredible sculptures with a setting sun in the desert backdrop… and on top of that, the ritual bursting into flames of a huge human figure made of wood… It’s what dreams are made of !

Burning Man

Black Rock Desert, Nevada, United States

August 27 to september 4, 2017

#2 BERLIN ATONAL

Founded in 1982, the Berlin Atonal festival was the annual meeting for experimental music and arts, namely serving as a platform for pioneers of the electronic music scene. After closing in 1990 – its founder was moving on to create the notorious Trésor club – it reopened in 2014 with the same mission : shed light on the avant-garde in music, artistic installations and other performances. Video artists, light artists and djs occupy an enormous former power plant over the course of 4 days to offer a condensed package of underground culture.

Berlin Atonal

Kraftwerk Berlin, Berlin, Allemagne

Du 16 au 20 août 2017

#3 MEADOWS IN THE MOUNTAINS

Located in the Bulgarian mountains, Meadows in the Mountains is a small music festival that accepts the artistic contributions of its attendees, as long as they are put together with materials available in the area. The result is an array of installations that blend with the environment, just like much of the festival that makes it a prerogative to respect nearby residents and local life. The hippie getup of a big majority of festival goers gives the entire bash a very spontaneous side !

Meadows in the Mountains

Rhodopes Mountains, Bulgaria

June 9 to 11 2017

#4 BOOM FESTIVAL

The Boom Festival takes place every 2 years in Portugal since its creation in 1997. Initially dedicated to the musical genre of trance, it now presents a more diverse line-up, that revolves around alternative cultures. However, the Boom Festival is mostly know for its completely psychedelic stages that inspire a great sense of escape. Over a week long, it offers its audience a powerful experience whether in visual or sound with a clear motto of refusing all commercial sponsorship in favor of limitless creative freedom.

Boom Festival

July 22 to 29,  2018

Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal

#5 COACHELLA

As well as offering a varied live line-up, the Coachella festival that takes place in California is a platform for visual arts, namely installations and sculptures. Every year, the organization commissions works, that are usually only exhibited at Coachella, because of the difficulty to move them. Some of the pieces have already been presented at Art Basel in the last few years, turning this music festival into an attractive event for artists as much as musicians.

Coachella Festival

Indio, Californie, Etats-Unis

Next event : April 13 to 15, 2018