Coachella 2024 – Walk-in art

Every year, one of the biggest music festivals takes place in Indio, California: the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. In addition to music, visitors are also offered a program away from the stage – including art installations. Find out which new works were commissioned for Coachella 2024 and what the walk-in artworks looked like here.

An abstract architectural landscape in bright colors. An ensemble of towering constructions made of wood and concrete, reminiscent of wings or palm trees. A tower made of large, partly rounded blocks whose rough, gray surface is reminiscent of rocks from a distance. Visitors to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2024 were able to see, walk through and sit on or in the shade of all three art installations.

The three works are part of the art program of the Coachella Festival, which was curated by the Public Art Company from Los Angeles under the direction of Raffi Lehrer. The installations were specially commissioned for this year’s festival. Works of art from previous years were also part of the Coachella art program again, such as the rainbow-colored pavilion “Spectra” by Studio Newsubstance or the interactive balloon chains by artist Robert Bose.

The Coachella Festival has been around since 1999 and takes place annually on the grounds of the Empire Polo Club in Indio, near the city of Palm Springs in California. Over 100 artists played their concerts on two consecutive weekends in mid-April 2024. Headliners at this year’s festival were Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat and Tyler, The Creator. Coachella is one of the biggest and probably most expensive festivals in the world. With a huge fringe, various activities and more, it also aims to offer visitors a program away from the stage. This also includes art installations.

The plywood constructions stretch skywards like wings, fanning out in curved shapes. The lightness of the constructions contrasts with the solid bases: differently shaped, 3D-printed concrete elements. The installation is entitled “Monarchs: A House in Six Parts”. It was designed by Studio HANNAH, led by Leslie Lok and Sasa Zivkovic, both Assistant Professors in the Department of Architecture at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

For the installation, the studio arranged six large elements with wooden superstructures, so-called pavilions, in a circle on the festival grounds; smaller versions of the concrete bases were grouped around them. The installation offered festival visitors a meeting point and seating in the shade of the towering wooden structures. These could be reminiscent of butterfly wings or palm leaves, according to a description by the curators. The colors of the constructions, with which Studio HANNAH refers to the atmosphere and light of the surrounding desert, change depending on the perspective.

For the 3D-printed concrete bases, the studio worked together with the company PERI 3D Construction. The self-supporting wooden structures were manufactured using robots at Cornell University. The elements of the installation were then assembled on site at the festival site.

A second installation created for the Coachella Festival 2024 was created by London-based studio Nebbia. With “Babylon”, architects Brando Posocco and Madhav Kidao designed a tower-like construction: monolithic-looking blocks, rounded at one end, are stacked upwards in an apparently precisely balanced manner. The installation deals with contrasts, the curators write about the installation. For Babylon, Nebbia combines old, historical architectural forms on the one hand with futuristic design elements on the other.

The 64 modules consist of steel frames and plywood. Nebbia sprayed these with plant-based cellulose insulation. This created a haptic surface reminiscent of rough rocks. Like the “Monarchs”, this installation was intended to provide shade for festival visitors during the day. The installation was also accessible.

In contrast to the exterior, the insides of the modules were kept smooth. The cathedral-like interior was projected at night in collaboration with Lake Hills, Alex Casillas, Raymond Aldva and Paul Andrew.

With “Dancing in the Sky”, Coachella visitors found themselves in the middle of a colorful, fantastic architectural world. The temporary installation was created by London-based artist Morag Myerscough, known for her installations in bright colors and geometric patterns. In her work for Coachella 2024, shapes were stacked, arches and towers stood next to and on top of each other. The platform on which the elements were set up was also designed with a colorful pattern.

Numerous circles and pennants, rectangles and diamonds spun around the fantastically shaped constructions. The small elements danced to follow the title of the artwork. With its colorfulness, kinetic elements and fantastic shapes, “Dancing in the Sky” has something playful about it. Visitors to Coachella 2024 were also able to walk through and explore this immersive art installation.

In the following video by Eric Minh Swenson, Morag Myerscough’s kinetic art installation at Coachella 2024 can be seen in motion:

Artworks from previous editions of the Coachella Festival have also found permanent, sometimes new, locations after the end of the respective festival. For example, the “Spectra” pavilion is permanently located on the grounds of the Empire Polo Club. Several sculptures and installations have also been set up in Indio and the surrounding villages. It is possible that the art installations from Coachella 2024 will also find a new, permanent location in a similar way.

Another festival takes place every year in the USA: Burning Man. Read more about the temporary festival city in the desert here.