The Academy —an interactive workshop tent for artists and activists inside Planet Roo—was born from the idea that Bonnaroo is unique among the new wave of twenty-first century music festivals, unique in that we—the people who come for a life-changing experience year after year—are the festival.

With The Academy, we have this tiny niche inside the festival where the boundary between performer and fan truly vanishes. Staffed by professors, professional artists and their apprentices, dancers, activists, and musicians, The Academy is not your garden variety summer school. Many other four-day festivals have popped up all over the continent, riding the winds of cultural and musical momentum created by the ‘roo, but to this day, we believe The Academy is a one of a kind experience.

Our theater classes are sheer frolic and fun. Acting out dreams and desires, these workshops offer a playful and physical personification of life as art and art as life. Last year, the grass and the dirt around the festival grounds became our stage. In restoring a sense of intimacy and community to performance, participants let their feelings flow into theater games that became a spontaneous show.

In painting class, we colored the canvas of the festival purple and proud. Using all recycled and reclaimed materials to build our murals, our participants wielded their brushes with bravado, shining beauty on their environs from the full spectrum of vision and sharing all the shades of experience. Easily our most popular class, painting took place around the clock and beyond our schedule until the space behind the Solar Stage was decorated on Sunday with all of our accomplishments.

In dancing classes, people learned all kinds of bellydance and break-dance moves. Our discussions of environmental topics were practical and inspiring. This year, we hope to expand our offering of art classes, making it possible for even more people to participate in the amazing experience of the Academy.

Andrew William Smith, Tennessee Tech
The “Dean” of the Academy