Welcome to roomemories!
roomemories is a platform that links personal memories to the spaces where they take place at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. You may add your own memories by year, or simply browse what others have left behind.
As an urban planner, I love attempting to understand the relationship between space and people. As a Bonnaroovian, I know a space like Bonnaroo has a big impact on people. As a master's student, I focused my thesis research on exactly this relationship.
While studying urban planning at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP), my thesis established Bonnaroo as a temporary city, examined the spatial and social dynamics that emerged there, and explored how increasing commodification has impacted those dynamics. While collecting all of the data, I couldn't help but feel that it needed a proper home. roomemories is the result.
I made this interactive website to visually convey the power of a space like Bonnaroo. To me, Bonnaroo is more than just a fun escape from reality for a week. I see Bonnaroo as a space of deep imagination, creativity, and authenticity. It's a space that has the power to inspire transformation in the people who pass through year after year. It certainly did for me. Through roomemories, I hope to visualize that impact. So while I hope this website serves as a celebration and point of reflection for those of us who attend, I also hope it highlights the importance of recognition and protection of these spaces within the broader landscape.
So thank you for visiting. This process has been incredible for me as a long-time Bonnaroovian and urban planning nerd, and I hope this site brings you as much joy as this process has brought me.