ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
ABOUT DIGITAL GRAFFITI
Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach is an art festival that employs the latest in digital technologies to project original works onto the town’s iconic white walls. The collection of events celebrates the creative process of integrating art, technology, and architecture, the New Urbanist town providing the open-air, nighttime gallery space with an exhibition footprint spanning just under one mile. Roughly 70 works of art are projected onto the canvases of exterior walls and architectural features, pathways, and landscape in a show that combines juried pieces submitted by artists from around the world, as well as those of Residency Artists, emerging artists and creative partners. Winner of the 2024 CODAawards: Collaboration of Design + Art for Residential Projects Featured by National Geographic as one of the top “Unconventional Art Destinations Around the World.” Recognized by Smithsonian Magazine as one of the “top five” light-projected art festivals.
Exhibiting Artists and the Juried Show
Digital Graffiti is underwritten by the Alys Foundation to provide a fully immersive festival experience, including the juried show of original works of digital projection art. Artists from around the world submit work for consideration via an open call for entries, with the selection of finalists made by the festival curator, in conversation with a select team of production and Alys Beach representatives. Finalists’ installations are reviewed by an esteemed panel of judges representing experts in art, architecture, and technology and considered for the Best in Show ($5,000 prize), Curator’s Choice ($2,000 prize), and Special Recognition (3 prizes of $1,000) awards. Residency Artists are pre-selected to receive a modest stipend and are hosted in Alys Beach leading up to the festival for research and development. Finalists are also encouraged to attend Digital Graffiti in-person, with lodging accommodations and access to events and special functions provided. The Alys Foundation has donated more than $300,000 in awards and artist stipends over the past 17 years, with the goal of furthering digital work in the public realm.
DG + E | Expanding Education Initiatives
Since its inception in 2007, Digital Graffiti has grown to encompass new initiatives promoting education and a deeper sharing of the production process. It’s become a natural laboratory for exploring digital media alongside the built environment, drawing international attention as an annual event of renown both for audiences and for the community cultivated around the artists, the technical production, and the collaborative workshop conversation between students of art and professionals.
To facilitate this collaborative and developmental environment for participants and members of the audience, Digital Graffiti has incorporated panel discussions and student outreach programming: DG + E (education). A collection of panels is designed for conversations around art, technology, and architecture, the intersection of these fields in the Digital Graffiti landscape, and on how trends, current events, and the educational climate influence the creative processes. The panels are intended to extend the engagement between art and audience into the realm of process and production, offering more in-depth insight into the Digital Graffiti experience.
Additionally, Digital Graffiti partners with area schools and university programs to provide a platform and collective 'laboratory' for emerging artists, the Emerging Artist Showcase. These students are given the opportunity to display their art within the festival exhibition, showing alongside and engaging with professional artists and creatives, and participating in functions and gatherings for the artists and media.
Digital Graffiti also engages in creative partnerships with other educational outreach organizations, incorporating creative installations designed to inform and engage audiences within the festival path. Examples include an art projection of digital medical screenings in partnership with the Point Washington Medical Clinic, and specially mapped digital displays from The Paper Bear Film Project, which aims to educate people on the biodiversity unique to the Northwest Florida region, within the exhibition path and as part of a specially designed scavenger hunt for younger guests during 2024’s Saturday night all-ages event.
THE ALYS FOUNDATION
The Alys Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established to support the long-term community values of the town. Funds can be used to finance community, environmental, cultural, and educational programs at Alys Beach as well as to help other nonprofit organizations in the greater community. The Foundation continues to give back to the community by hosting Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach, 30A Wine Festival, and Alys Beach Crafted.
alys beach
Amongst the pristine white sands and sparkling turquoise waters of northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast sits Alys Beach, a fully-bespoke, luxury lifestyle and vacation experience – a seaside destination where life is refreshed. Known for its striking white architecture, Alys Beach is a New Urbanist community built for relationships, connection, and for building memories around the town’s most sought-after amenity, the pristine Gulf beaches. With all of its 158 acres within a short walk of the beach and designed for engaging and comfortable access to the town center’s shops and restaurants, Alys Beach is truly an unparalleled experience. Alys Beach has long attracted homeowners and vacation guests with an eye for distinctive design and detail, and the town’s signature events serve to reinforce a sense of being transported to a place of luxury found within the balance of beauty, simplicity, and grace. To a place where life is not just lived, it is defined. Alys Beach Town Architects Marieanne Khoury-Vogt and Erik Vogt of Khoury Vogt Architects have been awarded the prestigious 2023 Arthur Ross Award for Excellence in the Classical Tradition for Architecture by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA). For more information, please visit alysbeach.com.
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