Artists, musicians and environmentalists are set to descend upon Tulum, Quintana Roo, for the second edition of the Art With Me *GNP Festival from April 24-28 for four days of art, music, cultural experiences and workshops.

The festival will feature over 100 art exhibits including works by celebrated New York City street culture artist Keith Haring, large-scale art installations that festival-goers will be able to wander through, a musical lineup to include vocalist and filmmaker Michael Franti, Brooklyn house duo Bedouin and techno artist Jan Blomqvis.

However, the event’s main focus is ecological awareness. The organization’s website states that although Tulum has until recently been sheltered from overdevelopment, “accelerated growth has expedited the need for immediate consideration and resolution of environmental concerns.”

As part of the festival’s program “Care With Me,” festival-goers will also have the opportunity to participate in a rain ceremony led by Mayan spiritual leaders, view films by the environmental organization Earth X and virtual reality pieces on plastic pollution by BioHogar, purchase indigenous and ecologically friendly products from a collective market and plant a garden with directors from Mexico City’s Huerto Roma Verde.

There will also be talks and workshops led by local and national leaders on environmentalism, recycling, eco-construction and eco-building, sexual education and sustainable development. The program will also host clean-ups of the Tulum’s beaches and jungle and town areas.

The “Care With Me” program operates year-round. Last year, it held six beach clean-ups, recycled 40% of the festival’s waste, hosted events to generate solutions for solid waste and formed a national alliance with 30 NGOs to ban single-use plastic in Mexico.

In 2019, the program aims to implement education programs to teach people how to reduce and sort their waste, install collection centers in the urban area of Tulum, build a municipal recycling plant, plant an urban garden in the town’s Casa de Cultura and to provide ongoing education for tourists on how to become more environmentally conscious.

Art With Me *GNP founder David Graziano said he intended the festival to be an impetus for lasting change in Tulum.

“My hope is that the festival will become a reference point for tourism and lifestyle travel in Tulum where people don’t just travel to Tulum for vacation, but also play an active role in protecting it now and for future generations.”

Mexico News Daily