Tulum: from daylight into the dance

The photographs open beneath the illuminated I AM YOU sign. A night-time crowd fills Arena, hands raised towards the booth as blue, pink and amber light moves across the room.

On 7 January 2026, I AM YOU brought Deer Jade & Friends to Arena in Tulum. The programme stretched from daytime activities to music after dark. Earlier, people stood hand in hand beneath the palms, with strips of fabric overhead and the sea beyond the roof. In the photographs, the circle and the small exchanges around it hold the day together: a shared laugh, an open hand, someone leaning across a table to see what another person is making.

Hands in the clay

At the clay table, a small horse takes shape beside a cup, a tool and a sheet of paper. Another photograph catches a maker laughing, hands still occupied with the material. These moments belong beside the music. They show people taking part in the gathering through something they can touch and shape themselves.

Outside, the pictures change scale. A sweep of turquoise fabric fills one frame; the next opens onto palms, water and the people moving between them. There are conversations and quiet pauses as well as dancing. The gallery leaves room for all of them.

Under the I AM YOU lights

After dark, the illuminated letters above the booth bring the photographs back to the dance floor. Hands rise from the crowd. Colour washes across the roof. The setting is still recognisable, but the open daylight of the earlier pictures has given way to a room gathered around the music.

The two short films and fourteen selected photographs throughout this story offer different ways back into the event. Watch the movement, then take time with the still images—the circle, the clay, the gestures and the people who made the day.

Event details are documented in Arena’s original listing. These are photographs from the event; individual credits appear where documented.