It’s easy to forget, but the festival isn’t just about the music – it’s also about the arts. It’s called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for a reason.
For over twenty years, since 1999, Coachella has been one of the most important music festivals in American culture. Every April, the festival takes place over two weekends at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, and features not just music, but also an immersive art gallery experience.
As festival co-founder Paul Tollett explained in the documentary ‘Coachella: The Film,’ the polo field where Coachella takes place starts as a completely open space. ‘White tents, green grass, blue skies, the mountains – there wasn’t much there to begin with,’ he said, highlighting its initial simplicity.
Coachella’s art installations started with a raw, handmade feel, featuring things like repurposed trash cans, alien figures, and even a working Tesla coil. Over time, the festival began commissioning larger and more elaborate artworks, bringing in artists and creative groups from around the world to create impressive displays.
The artists featured at Coachella aren’t chosen through an open application process. Instead, a team led by Coachella Art Director Paul Clemente, working with Raffi Lehrer, personally selects them. Each year, they consider proposals from only 10 to 12 artists, reviewing around 12 to 16 ideas total. According to Lehrer, who is a curatorial advisor for the festival and founder of Public Art Company, this selective approach gives each artist about a 20% chance of being chosen.
Goldenvoice looks for memorable artwork that captures the spirit of each year. They collaborate with artists who are willing to experiment and push boundaries, exploring innovative methods and ideas. The art needs to appeal to the festival’s diverse crowd and be immediately engaging – something that will resonate even with people who don’t typically visit art galleries, using striking visuals and energy.
Lehrer explained that chances to create something on this massive scale are incredibly uncommon. He noted that most artists never get the opportunity to perform for such a large, dedicated audience – 125,000 people – in a completely open and unrestricted space.
Let’s take a look at five artists who have truly stood out at Coachella throughout the festival’s history.
EMEK, COACHELLA POSTERS (2007-PRESENT)
Long before becoming the official artist for Coachella in 2007, Emek, a Portland, Oregon-based artist, earned the nickname “The Thinking Man’s Poster Artist” from punk legend Henry Rollins. Coachella organizers were looking for a visual style similar to the artwork at the New Orleans Jazz Festival and discovered Emek’s work through a feature on “Last Call With Carson Daly.”
Living in Los Angeles, Emek became well-known for his unique style, combining natural and mechanical themes in his concert posters. He’d already created posters for popular bands like Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, The Prodigy, Phish, Radiohead, Tool, and Queens of the Stone Age before he began working with Goldenvoice.
Emek’s artistic upbringing, surrounded by art clippings, 1960s music, and vintage posters in his father’s studio, deeply influenced his style. He developed a strong belief early on – one that continues to shape his work today – that compelling art should incorporate text.
His first art installation at Coachella featured a dreamy desert scene. A massive California poppy, reimagined as a Venus flytrap, dominated the landscape, with its stem acting as the needle for a record player built into a tree stump. The festival’s mountains and palm trees formed the backdrop. The festival’s name, “Coachella,” was written in flowing script across the top, using a green-to-forest green color gradient and a bright orange outline.
Each year, Emek spends February and March designing the Coachella poster. While the designs change dramatically, they always follow a few rules: no human figures are included, the San Jacinto Mountains must be visible, and a hummingbird – described as resembling a detailed, mechanical Fabergé egg – is hidden somewhere within the artwork.
Emek explained that Coachella is a recurring event that represents optimism and vitality. He simply stated, ‘It’s a symbol of hope and life.’
To celebrate Coachella’s 25th anniversary – after the festival was paused in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic – artist Emek created a new piece of art. It combines elements from every Coachella poster he’s ever designed.
He creates his artwork by hand, piece by piece, then scans it and adds color digitally, using layers. Finally, it’s transferred to film and screen printed by D&L Screen Printing, a company he’s worked with for years in Seattle.
As a movie poster enthusiast, I’ve been following Emek’s work for years, and it’s fascinating to see how sought after his prints have become. He typically only produces a few hundred copies for each festival he designs for – think hundreds for an event with tens of thousands of attendees – and they originally sold for between $150 and $250. But collectors now treat these posters like genuine art pieces. I’m seeing some of his iconic designs, like the Coachella astronaut, mountain lion, and turtle prints, listed online for thousands of dollars. It’s a real testament to his artistry and the growing collector base.
ROBERT BOSE, ‘BALLOON CHAIN’ (2010)
I’ll never forget my first Coachella! I was actually working it – I helped with the stage effects for Fischerspooner, that cool electroclash duo from New York. Honestly, I didn’t get to see a ton of the art, but the lights… wow. They had these huge searchlights all around the festival grounds, and they all converged into one single, bright point in the sky. It was really something else, and it stuck with me.
Two years later, while at the lively and dusty Burning Man festival in Nevada, Bose looked up at the sky and had an idea that would change his life. He attached several balloons to two bicycles, allowing him and his girlfriend to easily locate each other in the crowded event.
He described looking up and seeing something rise quickly – about 35 to 50 feet in just a few minutes. He wondered how much higher it could go if it continued for a longer period, like an hour or more.
He created a string of 100 balloons at camp, which quickly drew a crowd. This became a yearly tradition.
He discovered the Coachella documentary on DVD at a closing record store in 2009. Though he hadn’t experienced the festival himself, Bose was struck by the connection he saw between the artists at Coachella and those at Burning Man.
Knowing Goldenvoice was organizing the 2009 All Points West festival in New Jersey, he contacted the festival’s art curator, Philip Blaine, two weeks beforehand with his idea for “Balloon Chain.” Blaine approved the proposal.
“Balloon Chain” first appeared at the Coachella music festival in 2010 and has been a regular attraction ever since, with the only exceptions being the festival’s cancellations in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A team of 18 people is needed to build and run this impressive installation, which lights up the desert sky nightly from 4 p.m. until the end of the Coachella festival.
Bose explained that the chain is made with around 120 eco-friendly Tuftext latex balloons, placed roughly 12 feet apart. They use approximately 900 balloons in total across the two weekend events.
Bose explained that they have to constantly refill the balloons each day because the helium slowly leaks out, causing them to lose altitude. He added that it’s remarkable how much they can achieve with so few materials.
Beyond Indio, this aerial show has been a hit at Corona Capital in Mexico City for several years, and has also performed in Japan, Switzerland, Germany, and Portugal. The team has even been booked for private events like celebrity birthdays and weddings.
He said it still feels amazing that a simple idea – decorating his bike with balloons – became such a famous symbol of Coachella, instantly recognizable to everyone.
POETIC KINETICS, ‘ESCAPE VELOCITY’ (2014) and ‘OVERVIEW EFFECT’ (2019)
For Patrick Shearn, creative director of Poetic Kinetics, the biggest challenge with his fourth Coachella project wasn’t a lack of ideas – it was finding the right materials to bring his vision to life.
Shearn, who is located in Colorado, explained that the helmet’s visor was made using the largest acrylic hemisphere he could find. He believes it was about 10 feet in diameter, and the rest of the design developed from there.
Drawing on his work with the dinosaur creations in “Jurassic Park,” large-scale puppets and robots for the Beijing Olympics, and massive art installations at festivals like Burning Man and EDC, he designed “Escape Velocity”— better known to many as the iconic Coachella astronaut.
Shearn and a team of around 15 people designed the astronaut to resemble a forklift, building its framework in their Los Angeles studio. They meticulously handcrafted the suit’s threads, making them ten times larger than usual using oversized yarn. A sturdy aluminum structure supported the design, and custom-built joints, gimbals, and animatronics brought the astronaut to life.
The finished sculpture measured 36 feet high, 57 feet long, and 40 feet wide. To prevent damage, it was transported to the festival in five separate parts. The entire structure was then assembled for the first time on the polo field.
During the festival, a team of about 50 people helped manage everything as a person dressed as an astronaut slowly moved through the crowds – walking at less than five miles per hour. Using a special visual effect called projection mapping, people at the festival could see their own faces reflected on the astronaut’s helmet. Combined with videos from NASA, this created a captivating experience. The astronaut, Shearn, did almost all of the driving, and couldn’t see at all, relying on a noise-canceling headset to communicate.
We managed to get inside Fatboy Slim’s set. We drove right up to the Sahara Tent. Honestly, what could they do? Kick us out for that?
To celebrate Coachella’s 20th year in 2019, the festival organizers, Goldenvoice, asked Poetic Kinetics to recreate the astronaut art installation. This new version was named “Overview Effect,” inspired by the feeling astronauts get when they look back at Earth from space and experience a change in perspective.
Shearn explained the design concept, saying it represented a return from space. They imagined the object had been through the atmosphere, getting burned and scorched. It was decorated with festival wristbands and a VIP lanyard featuring alien writing, suggesting it had traveled to festivals across the galaxy before returning ‘home’ to this festival.
According to Marnie Sehayek, strategy director at Poetic Kinetics, the astronaut sculpture has become the most photographed art installation ever at Coachella, effectively becoming a symbol of the festival itself.
She explained that it fundamentally changed how people understand and experience the festival, and how the festival connects with its audience.
“Escape Velocity” is a popular exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. It’s a large-scale installation spanning two floors. The festival also acquired “Overview Effect,” and Poetic Kinetics can set it up for display when needed.
“We got no problem here, Houston,” Shearn said of a third outing. “Just give us a call.”
NEWSUBSTANCE, ‘SPECTRA’ (2018)
NewSubstance, a creative studio based in Leeds, U.K., has always focused on tangible experiences. They’re the team behind “Spectra,” the vibrant, seven-story viewing tower that’s now a permanent fixture at the Coachella music festival.
NewSubstance has over two decades of experience creating large-scale public art installations on unique canvases like an oil rig in the North Sea, Baku’s Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan, and the night sky during the Secret Garden Party festival in Cambridge, England.
After seeing the impressive worldwide impact of Poetic Kinetics’ “Escape Velocity,” NewSubstance began developing ideas at a polo match in 2016.
According to studio founder Patrick O’Mahony, the location is remarkably flat, easily accommodating three football fields. He also noted the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, which are rare in the UK. He described witnessing a stunning wash of color one morning at 6 a.m. before the crowds arrived.
The art installation immerses visitors in a vibrant spectrum of colors, recreating the feeling of sunrises and sunsets. O’Mahony initially sketched the design on the plane ride home from the festival. Building “Spectra” required a team of around 40 people, who first constructed it in a workshop in Leeds and then completed the assembly at the festival itself.
The tower is covered in 300 panels featuring 33 different colors, and it’s built with a strong, durable plastic similar to what’s used in fighter jet canopies. A central steel structure supports the tower’s 90 sections – playfully described as “slices of cheese” by the creator – which are stacked on top of each other. Hidden behind each beam are LED lights that can be individually controlled, creating unique light shows each night using pre-programmed sequences that begin at sunset.
Artist O’Mahony describes the installation, known as “Spectra,” as a surprising community hub. Originally intended as a temporary exhibit for just one year, it has become a lasting landmark. It’s become so popular that it even has its own merchandise, and at least seven couples have gotten engaged inside! The artist was particularly thrilled when the tower was featured on the animated show “Family Guy.”
O’Mahony explained that the show hadn’t previously featured a recurring element like this one. It proved very successful in establishing the show’s identity and has continued year after year. She admits she checks with the creators annually to see if they plan to discontinue it, but they always say no.
Do LaB, ‘MACROdose’ (2023)
As a longtime fan, Do LaB has always been a magical escape within Coachella for me. Their newest creation, “MACROdose,” is incredible – it’s a stage built with these flowing fabrics that just completely captivate you. What’s really cool is they ditched the big screens and flashy effects, and it’s still totally mesmerizing. It’s a truly immersive experience.
The Flemming brothers, originally from Pennsylvania and now based in California, have spent 25 years honing their unique design style. Their work draws inspiration from natural forms like mushrooms and coral reefs, and reflects a non-traditional approach shaped more by hands-on experience than formal training.
Growing up, Josh and his brothers, Jesse and Dede, loved building things with their dad – everything from forts and skate ramps to speakerboxes. That childhood hobby eventually led them to creating large-scale art installations and stages at festivals like Burning Man, Coachella, and Lightning in a Bottle – a festival they now independently organize and run.
Do LaB first appeared at Coachella in 2005 as the Lucent Misting Oasis. This 60-foot dome offered attendees a place to relax and enjoy electronic music, starting with breakbeats and dubstep, and expanding to include other electronic styles over time.
The geodesic dome transformed into an impromptu performance space right in the middle of the field. With the growing crowd and increasing volume, the Do LaB stage had to be relocated to a quieter area on the side.
Jesse explained that a couple of years later, Josh began to focus more on actual building design rather than artistic creations. He wanted to work on structures, not just art.
Do LaB first created “Big Fish” in 2015, and then “Beacon” in 2017. The “Beacon” structure had to be completely rebuilt in just three days after strong 50 mph winds damaged it during the 2018 festival. A year later, they unveiled “Warrior One,” which was inspired by the design of an Egyptian scarab beetle.
I was so impressed to learn about what Josh accomplished in 2022! He and his team completely reimagined how to use everyday materials, and the result was incredible. They built this amazing structure with multiple connected parts, designed to stay strong even in winds up to 90 miles per hour. It’s really a testament to their creativity and engineering skills.
Josh explained that what they do is essentially like building forts, but on a much bigger level. They jokingly say they’re ‘always just messing around,’ but they emphasize that even when they’re being playful, they’re completely dedicated to what they do and take their work very seriously.
Jesse Flemming and Megan Perez-Carpenter, Do LaB’s senior producer of music and content, have scheduled a diverse lineup of performers across both weekends of the event.
Do LaB receives many artist submissions annually, but only a little over 50 are ultimately selected to perform. Throughout its history, Do LaB has also helped launch the careers of numerous artists who went on to headline larger events. The stage has even hosted surprise performances by now-famous artists like Skrillex, Odesza, Rüfüs du Sol, and Billie Eilish, solidifying its place as a Coachella tradition.
Dede Flemming shared that Paul Tollett once described the value of Coachella as beyond measure. He’d received incredibly high offers to buy the festival, which led him to consider what he would purchase if he had unlimited funds. According to Flemming, Tollett’s answer was always Coachella itself.
We feel the same way,” he said. “We’re already living our dream, doing what we’d do even if we were incredibly wealthy.
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2026-04-12 21:11