Partner Festivals
Festivals of Light – visual seismographs of urban qualities
Wherever the “festival of light” is held, it becomes a distinguished factor in public life. Temporary installations fascinate and give different approaches to the urban space. The festival is an opportunity for new visual experience and for renewed disclosure of the process of looking. Regardless of the size and subject, “lighting festivals” show how the reflection of light in a public space is a binding factor for a “city material” and “city phenomenological” experience of the place. They represent the option and indicate new, still undiscovered solutions of the development and potentials of the cities as well as societies. They consist of the idea about urban space that is public (democratic) forum, open for realising and transforming urban reality. They prove that the reflection of light in the space has become a visual seismography of the urban quality.
Bettina Pelz is artistic director of the LichtRouten Luedenscheid Festival, Germany and GLOW Eindhoven, Netherlands.
HANSAFLUX / festival of light in Tallinn, Estonia
The festival was established at the end of the 90’s by Indek Leht and Yoko Alender, who were inspired by the “Valon Voimat Light” festival from Helsinki. Presently it is run by the producer Indek Leht, curator Veronike Valk and artist Teemu Nurmelin (Helsinki). From the very beginning “Tallinn Light Festival” has been in close cooperation with international festivals of the same kind – at first with the oldest yearly festival “Valon Voimat Light” and from 2006 with Lyon Fête des Lumiéres which resulted in a main project called "Hansaflux".
"Hansaflux" is a project of lighting city spaces that shows the possibilities and potentials of certain parts of the city. In a year 2008 “Tallinn Light Festival” is a member of a wider network of cooperation established between different light festivals all around Europe.
www.valgusfestival.ee
Veronika Valk is the organiser and artistic selector of the festival “Valon Voimat Light” and "Hansaflux"
SUPERFLUX, Light festival in Lyon, France
"Superflux" is a project from the Roger Tator gallery that was founded by Eric Deboos and Laurent Lucas. Since 1999 "Superflux" has presented artistic works in the urban environment, using light as a means of expression and attracting more and more spectators and general public. Every year, during three nights in December, shortly before the Lyon “festivity of light” (Fête des Lumiéres), over forty artists exhibit their work in the field of design, architecture, video, print and photography. Near Roger Tator gallery, on about 30 locations (artists’ studios, shop windows, restaurants, pharmacies, tourist agencies...) the works are exhibited in now already traditional wooden boxes (light box) and give to the whole neighbourhood of 7th city district an exciting new look by sketching a kind of artistic therritory”.
Since 2006, "Superflux" is a manifestation that is renowned by the state and internationally and as such cooperates with a lot of other similar festivals, like "Beneflux" (Belgium), "Hansaflux" (Estonia), "Glow" (Netherlands), "He-Ly-Flux" (Finland), "Svetlobna gverila" (Slovenia) and from this year Belgrade of Light
(Serbia). As a result of networking between these multiple “FLUXes” the project EFLUX is emerging as a large scale European project.
www.superflux.org
Roxana Ploestean, programme coordinator for the Roger Tator gallery.
SVETLOBNA GVERILA, light festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia
"Svetlobna gverila" (Light Guerrilla) is the festival that was founded in 2006 and organised by Strip Core / Forum Ljubljana, on the initiative of Katerina Mirovic and Aleksandra Stratimirovic. "Svetlobna gverila" is a series of events that are mainly light installations and lighting of spaces. These are taking place over a short period of time primarily in Ljubljana. Not only that "Svetlobna gverila" presents lighting artistic projects and events of the international character, but also takes over the role of producer of light installations wanting to encourage and motivate Slovenian artists to create in that medium. Through its action it encourages discussion about the role of the artists in co-creating the urban environment.
From the very beginning the "Svetlobna gverila" has in the programme part includes presentation and exhibition from a visiting partner-festival. That is how in Ljubljana so far Transnational Light Detectives and "Superflux" have been presented.
Next "Svetlobna gverila" will be held in June 2009 and will present the "Hansaflux" festival, the main theme being recycling (of light).
www.svetlobnagverila.net
Katerina Mirovic is the organiser and co-selector of the "Svetlobna gverila" festival.