"Hanabi" (Fire Blossom) artwork.
Music Festival Camping

Art at AUM

Our visual and performing art wonderland

AUM is a platform for art, and our new years event is a standout for festival art in New Zealand

Our beautiful festival site is accompanied by live art installations, sculptures, painting and performing art of many kinds. Each summer we showcase brilliant local and international artists, including some beamed in from overseas for digital projection art. Our art aims to dazzle, surprise and bring joy.

Our stages are created with world-class lighting, laser shows and large scale projection mapping and artistry created specifically for each year’s festival theme.

We bring established artists alongside emerging talent who bring their original creations for everyone to enjoy. It might be their first public showing, or a chance to try something new out, or to collaborate with others.

We have performing artists too, complete with multiple shows including the famous Midnight Cabaret on the last night of the festival which has become a favourite of many with a definite PG 18 content advisory.

VISUAL ART

AUM hosts a family of visual artists who contribute the amazing creations seen around the festival site. They include painted murals, immersive installations, sculptures, secret corners and hangout spots. There’s even some you can collaborate in creating. Many of our art takes form during the festival so each time you walk past them they’re different.

Each summer AUM has a huge visual art roster with over 30 artists present. We also showcase talent internationally for a digital art projection corner and have collaborative art which you can contribute to.

Last summer we also ran guided art walks with the artists so you could experience how they envisaged and then created their art projects.

Some of last year’s art highlights include David Eversfield and Steve Crowcroft stunning “Hanabi” (Fire Blossom) light sculpture, The Grotto hidden hangout spot, Nico Woodward’s (@nico.woodward) “Room Of Doom” interactive ride-simulator made from recycled wood.

A festival community art project created by Nicolas Urquiza can be seen on our gallery page

Images by @Mili Villamil and @Nabulen

Hanabi Light Sculpture Artwork at Aum Festival

Hanabi (Fire Blossom), designed by David Eversfield

Collaborative art project by Nicolas Urquiza

Elemental Wahine mural by Leigh-vii

PERFORMING ART

Each year we are wowed by an overflowing abundance of wonderful performing artists from Aotearoa and around the world!

We have aerialists climbing ropes, wrapping themselves in straps, contorting in rings, swinging past on poles, and dropping from silks over 20ft in the air! We have jugglers, hoopers, stunt-unicycle riders, acrobats, LED glow flow-ers, fire eaters and giant cyr wheel spinners. There are dancers, singers, poets, story-tellers, clowns, puppets, roaming creatures, drag artists, and even burlesque performers, late at night when the wee ones have gone to bed.

We continue to expand this awesome group of talented artists and our flagship Daytime Gala and Midnight Cabaret shows are loved by all.

This summer there will be even more roaming art to enjoy throughout as well as opportunities to interact with many of these wonderful artists and learn a thing or two of their skills at various workshops.

Midnight Cabaret. Photo by Nabulen

Fire and Flow performer. Photo by Kyle D

STUNNING DECOR

Each new year you enter a magical location that is carefully designed and dressed to transport your stress and worries away as you become part of the festival theme!

Months of design work and artistic collaboration are brought to life in the most extravagant, themed manner for AUM.

We set a goal each year to have the most beautifully decorated new years event, crafted by some of the most talented artists in the business. We create beautiful and engaging environments to dance and play in, and it’s an honour and a blessing to us. It’s another way to say thank you to our family of supporters who deserve the best.

Kānuka Stage, decor by Mia Straka, Eli Mulvay and LO-FI Productions

Our festival art is an experience like no other

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Camping Music Festival