Kiwiburn Art Grant submissions are now open for 2021, so we caught up with one of the recipients of a 2020 KB Art Grant to find out more about his experience. Daniel applied for and received a grant for his project “TRONG!” Read on to find out more about Daniel, his project, challenges, and the KB Art Grant process.
“I got swept along to my first Kiwiburn as part of the SK Pizza Camp (I think that was around four Kiwiburns and one Ignition ago), and I have been an addict ever since. Like most people, I had no idea what the festival was about when I first went along and was overwhelmed by the atmosphere and raw creativity I saw on the Paddock.
As I’ve come to understand the festival more, I’ve contributed to Kiwiburn and gotten something new out of it each Burn – from expressing loss through messages on the Temple, to unleashing my queer side and releasing my naked self at the river. Kiwiburn has really helped me grow as a person.
I have never really considered myself an artist. A few years ago, a friend’s homemade, portable speaker system that was brought to Kiwiburn inspired me to create a speaker of my own (see image). This then led me to create an infinity mirror and several other light and sound projects. It was not until last year however, that I decided to make my first official art project: TRONG! – a Tron-themed, UV-lit, table tennis game. I really wanted to do a project that was interactive and fun, usable day or night and fun for kids as well as adults. Imagine a large table, marked with fluorescent tape set in a gazebo that was pitch black with UV lights hung to light up ping pong balls, bats, and the court lines.
Applying for the grant was easy and fun. I applied for a Small Grant of $500.00; however, a gazebo was included in my application and you cannot get structures funded, so I ended up with a budget of around $350.00. Once my application was approved, I was introduced to a helpful Kiwiburn Arts Committee volunteer who outlined all the processes involved in getting the piece set up. This included Health and Safety plans, project descriptions, and communicating with Town Planning regarding the location of my project.
I worked on the project throughout the year – building the table, painting it, and sourcing the lights, power supply, tape, paint, and accessories. I never managed to test it before taking it to the Kiwiburn, so was apprehensive about everything working as planned. I had recently fractured my shoulder mountain biking, so carrying heavy objects and building gazebos was tricky and hard going! I also had to do a lot of work on my camp set up, so it was stressful getting it all done in time.
The only real thing that went wrong was that the gazebo I was using didn’t have any covers, so I had to emergency-grab some weed mat and cable tie it to the side of the frame so that there were walls. It looked ridiculous during the day but worked to keep the wind off at night. Other than these issues, I think the project worked well, as every time I went to have a game someone was already playing.
What I love about Art at Kiwiburn is that it does not have to be super refined. My favourite project ever at Kiwiburn was a bunch of light up pool noodles with wigs on the top. The effect was amazing for such a simple idea.
I found the whole Kiwiburn Art Grant process very rewarding, there were some challenges but, overall, I loved the experience and am now inspired to do an Art project every year. I really recommend that anyone apply for an Art Grant, as the Kiwiburn Arts Committee are friendly folks who are keen to help you out. It is essentially an opportunity to experiment and have fun with whatever materials you want to play with. You just have to deliver something on the day, but whatever it is (even if it is a disaster!), people will love that you tried and take it for what it is: a Burner expressing themselves.”
Kiwiburn Arts Committee is accepting grant applications until 7 September 2020. Apply for your art grant here!
