AUM Universe community art
by Nicolas Urquiza
Over the past two summers at AUM in 2021 and 2022 Nicolas Urquiza has created a space for the collective minds of festival-goers to create collaborative artworks.
On the pathway to the Kānuka stage Nico offered a space under the trees where people could sit in the shade and cut items out of the stacks of magazines he had and create collages of inspired juxtaposition.
Nico scanned and printed out the art for people to take home as a memento and hundreds of AUMsters contributed to designs and can be proud to have been part of this festival community art concept.
The scans were also then animated into seven short films which Nico composed music to and which you will see this new year as part of the visuals for the music stages.
Nico has this to say about creating AUM Universe,
“I never imagined that the installation would be so popular. I am very happy that people become true fans of the installation. I think that many needed to use some of their time to create a design and to get a gift copy printed on the spot was the icing on the cake.”
The AUM Universe collection was inspired by Nico’s experiences at AUM,
“Children, parents and grandparents mix for 3 days and nights in ancestral lands to celebrate the arrival of the new year on a dance floor. AUM Universe is difficult to describe in words, better to live it.”
Nico’s accompanying music to the project is under the artist name Head In The Moon.
