As the sun goes down at Alys Beach, the lights go up celebrating 10th annual Digital Graffiti Festival. This year, the festival will be held on Friday and Saturday, May 19 & 20, from 8:00 PM to 11:00. It will be followed by a brunch on Sunday, May 21, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
“Street art has a different kind of reputation…” Digital Graffiti curator Brett Phares chuckles, “but not at Alys Beach.” The word graffiti often has a negative connotation, as graffiti is commonly created illicitly by vandals. Each year, the residents of Alys Beach give visitors an opportunity to see the structures of this seaside village transformed from blank white walls to exotic and interactive canvases.
The fortified community of Alys Beach takes a different approach to street art. Artists incorporate the foliage, landscapes, water fixtures, and other surfaces into their pieces. The observations made at Digital Graffiti do not compare to visiting an art museum. Instead of seeing a 2-dimensional image on a wall, visitors are inserted into the frame of the art…and that’s not just a figure of speech. Some of the exhibits have integrated technologies that enable spectators to manipulate the image being projected simply by casting the silhouettes of their bodies over the art.
The Digital Graffiti Festival is an innovative event that allows artists from all over the world to project their creations upon the stark-white walls of Alys Beach. The architecture of the coastal community becomes a colorful canvas overnight. Presented by the Alys Foundation and sponsored by Christie Digital, Digital Graffiti is a vehicle that allows digital artists to create unexpected and wondrous worlds.
“This year, one of the things that will make it visibly amazing is that we have a partner with Christie Digital,” says Mr. Phares. “I mean you talk about A-game! They are going to be bringing the same kind of hardware that would be used to light up the Super Bowl Halftime Show.” These game-changing projectors will potentially be five times brighter than anything the festival has seen in previous years. The displays this year are expected to be especially captivating, and it will be exciting to see just how bright things are going get for the future of Digital Graffiti.
Take a walk through the streets of Alys Beach and see the magnificent installations that this year’s artists have customized for you. On Friday of the event, there will be food trucks and vendors along the footpaths of the festival. This opening night street party will wind through Alys Beach all the way down to Caliza restaurant. There will be music, plenty of options for food and drink, and fun for the whole family!
On Saturday, Digital Graffiti will be an all-inclusive food and beverage experience. It will be a 21-and-over event celebrating the works of digital artists. This night will be set up in a walkabout style with multiple stops along the festival’s paths. Some of the stops will feature foods from regional chefs and drinks from winemakers and breweries. The night will end around the pool at Caliza restaurant, which will have additional art showcases.
This year, in place of a poolside dance party, please join the festival crowd for digital art, culinary favorites, craft beer, and cocktails. You will end up at Caliza Pool with sweets, bubbles, and a down-tempo vibe, perfect for discussing art, architecture, and technology.
This visual splendor of a festival will definitely be THE place to be!
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