THE Venues
Two traditional stages will anchor the festival alongside a series of unconventional settings, designed in collaboration with some of the most exciting visual artists and architects working today.
THE cube
An open air cube-shaped multi-storied structure acting as a day and nighttime experimental spatial sound venue. The program will be presented alongside the revolutionary audio system d&b Soundscape. The Cube will be a journey through augmented sonic realities, including deep listening sessions, renowned musical acts and local instrumentalists, alongside workshops, talks and meditation.
The exterior will be designed by an artist as part of our inaugural Cube Grant, supporting artists and encouraging experimentation. Our 2022 grant curator is New York based advisor and curator Nicola Vassell.
SMOKEY’S
This forest oasis will be an interactive "adult playground" with wooden structures and hidden enclaves designed by Brazilian artist duo assume vivid astro focus. From percussion to our headlining late night DJ acts, get lost in Sugar Creek forest through sunshine shelter and night time light shows.
DRAG ME TO THE DISCO
A barn transformed into a disco madhouse of discovery, inclusivity and play by Maurizio Cattelan's TOILETPAPER Magazine. From daily disco get downs, world live music, vinyl funk sets, and a drag host, this will be a place to feast your eyes.
NEXT DOOR: “NOVA HEAT”
A multi-roomed full immersive installation and structure created by New York based artists Jonah Freeman & Justin Lowe. Enter the dystopian reality of this duos universe via a secret entrance that takes you into a multi-layered narrative of uncanniness. The most intimate venue onsite, it will include a myriad of musical acts from local acts, surprise performances and sonic sessions. When you find this speakeasy, it will be hard to leave...
Bizarre Bazaar
Designed by renowned architects Charlap Hyman & Herrero, the Bizarre Bazaar will be a maze of uniquely curated vendor and retail booths as well as our main food court. A space for discovery and curiosity, ranging from performance stands, limited edition artist collaborations, unusual workshops, quirky concept shops, strange and wonderful objects and collectibles, local vendors and pop ups and festival merch. Our aim is also to make the Bizarre Bazaar a platform for local artisanal artists and food vendors alike.
LOCAL GATE COMPETITION
We are excited to announce an annual competition in which local artists in the Northwest Arkansas region are able to submit a design proposal for the entrance gate of the festival. Commissioned by FORMAT.
CULTURAL PARTNERS
Community engagement is at the heart of our festival. We are thrilled to be official partners of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary, in which we will be announcing a variety of off-site programming and cultural recommendations - in the form of workshops, talks, curatorial tours and more.
