What's Luma all about?
Anyone new to town who sees beams of coloured lights shining into the night sky from Queenstown Gardens this King's Birthday weekend might have some questions.
Why are all these people streaming towards the lights? What the hell is going on? And if they follow the throng, they will continue to be astounded.
For most locals and visitors, though, LUMA Southern Light Project festival has now become an established part of the calendar, one of the must-dos for the Queenstown year.
But they still have their questions about the immersive arts festival, which started as a pilot project back in 2015 and now welcomes about 60,000 festival goers each year, offering soundscapes, live music, illuminated art, sculptures, sonic environments, interactive performance, and hospo.
The team behind the long weekend, six local good 'uns who make up the registered not-for-profit charity, the LUMA Light Festival Trust, have put together a list of the questions they get asked the most about the festival.
Luma runs from 30 May - 3 June. Adult tickets are priced $25 in advance and allocated to specific nights. Under 12s are free but still need a ticket.
Your FAQs with answers from the LUMA team:
1. HOW IS LUMA FUNDED?
When LUMA began, the Trust was fortunate to be given ‘seed’ funding for a proof of concept by the Lakes Arts Trust and QLDC. After the first small version of LUMA (four installations in town), other funders came on board; Central Lakes Trust, Lotto, Southern Trust and a whole host of supporters from the local business community. All with a clear objective to help grow the event and make it sustainable in the long term.
2. WHO RUNS LUMA?
The agreements needed to run LUMA are owned and governed by the LUMA Light Festival Trust which is a registered not-for-profit charity. It's a home-grown concept developed by six passionate locals who who want to bring the arts to life in Queenstown.
3. WHY ISN’T IT FREE ANYMORE?
As the event grew, those initial funding streams began to taper off (this was always the plan). Although we still have a huge amount of support from our partners, it’s too much to ask the business community to fully fund the event, and shaking koha buckets at the gate was never going to give LUMA a secure future. Asking our guests to contribute through a paid ticket system is the only way to keep things afloat and our current ticket price of $25 allows us to pay material costs, pay all of our suppliers, cover year-round fees and pick up the shortfall resulting from reduced funding or commercial sponsorship.
4. WHERE DOES ALL THE PROFIT GO?
The reality is LUMA makes a very small margin which is just enough to cover administration, rent and year-round planning by the event team. Last year, we estimated that the organisers were working for approximately $9 an hour whilst also balancing full time jobs. Although we started out as a 100% volunteer team, we have needed engage more people and cover more costs as the year-round scale of the event has grown.
5. WHAT DO YOUR PARTNERS GET OUT OF LUMA?
Our partners are given year-round opportunities to celebrate their support, share our content and hopefully build a sense of pride in their brand and how it can support Queenstown through lasting relationships. We have had consistent feedback from our guests about how refreshing it is to be immersed in a ’non-commercial’ and well curated entertainment space.
6. WHAT ABOUT THE ‘SPECIAL PROJECTS’?
By diverting some of our funding income away from installations and performance, we're able to support other initiatives which give a little back to our community.
The Schools Project enables local students to hone their creative skills and present their work in a live setting at LUMA.
The Emerging Artist Programme (LEAP), showcases young talent and offers exposure and inclusion at key points in an artist’s development.
LUMAbility began last year with the help of Queenstown Airport and brings accessibility to LUMA for an audience with diverse needs.
LUMA Arts Colab, a series of creative workshops for the whole community (especially our younger followers or participants in LUMAbility) to participate and create content to bring, wear or celebrate at LUMA.
Dishrupt was launched at LUMA in 2017 and continues to divert serveware from the waste stream by ‘doing the dishes’ and keeping our vendors stocked.
The LUMABUS is more than just a park and ride service supported by Queenstown Central, it is also designed to give our audience a chance to rethink how they travel in and around town.
LUMA Generation, which is being developed this year, will give our guests a chance to fund pest control and biodiversity projects within the Gardens.
7. WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE TO RUN EVENTS?
The dreaded ‘C Word’ had a major impact on cost, but events have always been run by passionate people not getting paid enough for going way beyond… Inflation, compliance, health and safety, power, promotion, artist’s fees… Bouncing back from a global pandemic is just another piece of the puzzle. We spend tens of thousands of dollars on ground protection which is hired locally, laid, removed and cleaned. It’s well worth the effort though, as the Gardens is a precious place and we go to great lengths to keep it beautiful before, during and after the event.
8. WHAT KEEPS YOU ALL GOING?
We often ask ourselves this question but the answer is simple; Queenstown needs a cultural, creative heart, and LUMA is the best way to present our brand of artistic diversity to the whole community for five short days every year. Our hope is that LUMA can be part of a growing social fabric in a town which is often criticised for losing its soul. A significant part of your ticket purchase goes back into the New Zealand arts community which allows local and national creators the opportunity to showcase their work. 95% of the art in LUMA is New Zealand home grown, and benefits kiwis directly. We couldn’t do LUMA without the amazing support from these talented creatives who contribute their time at highly discounted rates so we can put something on that is far greater than the sum of its parts.
