There Are Not Enough Drugs In The World To Handle Splendour's 2016 Arts Program

Every year, Splendour In The Grass goes the extra mile by adding to its always-revered musical line-up with an extensive array of creative workshops, performances and other attractions, collectively branded as Splendour Arts.

This year's array of artistic endeavours, curated by internationally renowned artist Craig Walsh, is set to be no different, with a truly, wonderfully insane collection of eclectic, sometimes esoteric, arts drawcards destined for Byron Bay this July, the presence of which will be quite literally unavoidable — Ash Keating's Arch Tunnel Response is both "site-responsive painting" and the actual arch/entrance tunnel through which attendees pass to get into the festival.

Along with Keating's technicolour entryway, Walsh has locked down visual artist Shaun Gladwell to showcase four video pieces — Pataphysical Man (2005), Skateboarders Vs Minimalism (2016), Pacific Undertow Sequence (2010) and Midnight Tracer (2011) — for this year's Video Art Space program, titled Rendered. Gladwell uses activities such as skateboarding, parkour, BMX riding, graffiti, urban exploring and more to "rethink the function of objects and environments", and has ridden that technique right around the world as an acclaimed exhibitor for the past 15 years.

Also joining the shenanigans, once again, will be the fourth installation of an ongoing performance piece, whose previous iterations — Barnraiser, Rumspringer and Anabaptiser — all laid the groundwork for this, Upper Downs. It's the culmination of several years' dedication from Bennett Miller and a group of performers pretending to be Amish people for the festival's duration. In Upper Downs, fittingly enough taking place at The Barn, gambling comes to their idyllic little dwelling, which should make things interesting, to say the least.

The Tent Of Miracles was hit-and-miss last year — there was, at one stage, a guy dressed up in all kinds of Middle Eastern-terrorist stereotypes who was simply a mind-boggling inclusion — but it's always a welcome presence at Splendour In The Grass, where Andy Forbes' Splendour wedding show, Un Intelligent Design, will make its return alongside an array of live theatre, dance, comedy and more.

Experimentalism is key in this year's Arts Program, with the final two drawcards both standing out for their uniqueness. Sam Songailo's Program 2 will use Splendour punters as 'test subjects', releasing them into his artwork and documenting their real-time reactions. Any art show that bandies about terms like "explores the limits of perception" and "phenomenology of consciousness" is guaranteed to be fucked in the best kind of way.

Less of a guarantee, but still gloriously batshit, is Mr Poopie, which addresses the key relationship between everyone's love of ice-cream and everybody's need to shit sometimes, and will apparently feature an "indulgent and delicious substance excreting from the ice cream dispensers". 

If more traditional artistic pursuits are your jam — friendship bracelets for the sustainable commune back home or what have you — then, as always, Splendour In The Craft makes its welcome return to the festival in 2016, boasting an array of workshops designed to bring out your inner knitter with some of the country's foremost creatives. Included in the spread this year is the Paper Chandeliers workshop with Beci Orpin, Charms for the Charming Bracelets with Each To Own, Lantern Making with Amac, making dream catchers with Regular Wildcat & Meet Make Create, Totes, Totes, with Art Park, and Apomogy with Rachel Burke, who will also host Fake It 'Til You Make It (Yourself) with The Grates frontwoman Patience Hodgson together as Fancy Free.

Plus, the team from Spotlight will be back on-ground at the Mend It Like Beckham stall — crucial for those of you not likely to make it through the three days without ruining your clothes — as will Brissy's The Grates-run Southside Tea Room, providing sweet treats and delicious beverages to keep you crafting away until the early hours, or at least until they shut the craft bus.

Splendour In The Grass returns to Byron Bay from 22-24 July. See the festival website for more information.