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Festival of Gnarnia Art and Culture Review

: By Eric Moore; Published on August 16, 2012

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Photo Credit: Laura Sellers

Read Headstash Magazine's Comprehensive Review Guide of The Festival of Gnarnia

The Festival of Gnarnia caused quite a stir in the days following the event. There was a lot of talk about police and organization, but not nearly enough about what this festival got right. Gnarnia absolutely threw down when it came to infusing their event with a boatload of live art and a huge helping of culture.

All too often we forget that these are music "and arts" festivals. Sure, our community is centered on the tunes. But in the bigger picture, we are a much broader community of artists – both aurally and visually. Art at festivals have come a long way in the last 10 years, and we need to keep that going.

There are some festivals that do a great job supporting art in all forms, and it's no coincidence that these are the most highly regarded events in our community.

Photo Credit: Ryan Patrick

Many festivals have become “annual parties” focusing on the more superficial aspects of the scene. While this is certainly not a bad thing and fills a void all its own, these events do not always attract a wide variety of socially conscious people attempting to support and foster a familial community.

Gnarnia’s art director Jarred Trantham did an amazing job bringing in 39 of the best live artists in the country. He also set up a live art gallery that was filled to the brim with numerous different styles of art. Unfortunately, it's much harder to live paint in the rain than it is to play music, so the weather kept much of this festival's wealth of artistic talent in the shadows for the first couple nights.

It's truly a breath of fresh air to be able to walk into a gallery of original art pieces. Looking at art online is one thing – seeing it in person is completely different. It's like the difference between listening to a Phish album and catching a Phish show.

It's really cool to walk around a festival and be constantly surrounded with culture. There were a number of Native American ceremonies performed throughout the weekend as well as a variety of acrobatic performers and drum circles.

Beech Mountain Ski Resort was also decked out in art structures – a lot of time and effort was clearly put into making this venue a visually appealing place to be in. Frequently, I would be walking around the grounds and just see people staring in awe at some of the installations.

There was no shortage of beauty at Gnarnia, check it out for yourself: