The programme of the Vilnius Festival of Lights, which will celebrate the capital’s 701st birthday on 25–28 January, includes 15 light installations and 5 additional objects at various locations in the Old Town, world-famous light art stars and talents from five countries, unique light reflections and vivid experiences.
“In the cold season, when the sun shines so rarely, Vilnius Light Festival allows us to immerse ourselves in a creative world of colour, culture, art, technology and to get new ideas for ourselves and for the city. The event has become a symbolic place to celebrate the Vilnius birthday, therefore I invite you all to join on 25 January and celebrate a new centenary of Vilnius’ history,” says Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas.
The Festival of Lights in the growing historic Old Town of Vilnius from 25–28 January will create new and unusual stories and, for the sixth year in a row, invite you to immerse yourself in the dynamic world of light art. The four-day Vilnius Lights Festival is a once-a-year opportunity to explore the diversity of works by famous contemporary artists and unique forms of light art that transform urban spaces, highlight the beauty and cultural depth of historical buildings honour the city’s symbols, give them a new perspective and enrich visitors with new experiences.
“In order to create the programme and present the most relevant lights festival artists and their works, we develop cultural links with various festivals around the world and in Western Europe, look for new talents and interesting projects and analyse the prevailing trends. In recent years, we have presented more than 90 unique lights installations and artists from 18 countries around the world to the residents and visitors of Vilnius. We notice that we are appreciated not only in Lithuania, but also in other countries for the diversity and quality of the programme,” says Paulius Jurgutis, Director of the Vilnius Cultural Centre, the organiser of the event, thanking the festival fans for their support and for the opportunity to continue the special tradition of the city of Vilnius.
The programme includes 20 unique stories – 15 light installations and 5 additional objects
We recommend you start your festive stroll and search for objects, new impressions at the Art Printing House (Šiltadaržio str. 6), next to the Bernardinai Garden. There you will see interactive light installation FLUX by the Polish artist Ksawery Kirklewski of the Ksawery Komputery studio. He is known as a genius of digital creation, which make you think about the impact of modern technologies on the speed of human communication. The project, with its impressive parameters, will create an immersive experience that reveals the hidden algorithms that shape our online encounters at the speed of light.
The Art Printing House will also host HARA, an installation by French artist Guillaume Marmin that explores the relationship between light, sound and space with a soundtrack by composer Phillipe Giordiani. Inspired by the Japanese concept of the hara, the abdomen and source of human vital energy and emotion, this spectacular projection of luminous matter will stimulate the senses and provoke inner conversations about the essence of life and the infinity of the universe.
In the courtyard of the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Lithuania, the fascinating installation CONTINUUM by the British duo Illumaphonium invites the audience to walk through a 2.5 metre high maze of light and reflections from 25 mirrored monoliths. An interactive glowing sound artwork will capture the audience’s imagination, creating a sense of infinite space and overwhelming sound.
In the courtyard of the Vilnius Art Gallery, visitors will see the installation CELESTIAN BRAINSTORM by Amelia Kosminsky from Great Britain. The term brainstorm is used in English to describe an attack and a moment of intense thought or creativity. The artist, who grew up with flicker-sensitive epilepsy, aim to raise awareness of mental health issues through her work. She was inspired by the effect of light on the brain – flashing lights can be both enchanting and triggering. The interactive installation simulates a rotating lamp that dispels darkness, creating the enchanting and calming effect of a starry sky in constant motion.
Another installation in the courtyard of the Vilnius Art Gallery invites visitors to explore the boundaries between reality and virtuality. CRYSTALLIZED, a work by the French creative studio Theoriz, which loves complex projects, proposes a new form of entertainment that evokes deep emotions. A mysterious structure made of steel, sounds and holographic images, inspired by the unique and visually striking element bismuth (Bi), will continuously change its shape from atom to liquid and crystal.
What is this day? Are we part of a message to the future? – ARTEFAKTAS installation in Bokšto Square will provoke an inner monologue by visual artist VJ Tomas Stonys and electronic music producer Olivier Ondi.
The famous British collective Architecture Social Club will present a new installation PARALLELS in the courtyard of 17 Bokšto Street. Inspired by the movements and sounds of the natural environment, this is an architectural experiment in light and sound that will transport the audience into a dynamic space of animated light made up of thousands of laser beams. The soundtrack was composed by British electronic and techno music producer Max Cooper.
In the courtyard of Vilnius Jesuit Gymnasium, a fascinating hypertunnel created by video installation artist Rimas Sakalauskas, assisted by director Žilvinas Vingelis and composer Dominykas Digimas, will take festival visitors to an alternative Vilnius – a Vilnius in space. The unique installation VILNIUS 700 – KOSMOSO VILNIUS will offer an immersion into the genre of fictional documentary.
Ignas Urba’s installation ANALOG FLUORESCENCE in the educational media centre Lajoteka, located between St. Casimir’s Church and Vilnius Jesuit Gymnasium, will make us think about the ongoing technological and cultural changes, the transience of the contemporary world and nostalgically recall, how many inventions we have already outlived. The visually immersive experience is a symbolic monument of light and sound to a technological advertisement, the fluorescent lamp, which is banned from importation into the European Union.
The oldest baroque church in Vilnius, St Casimir’s, illuminated by the enchanting video installation DIPTIKAS by the design studio Video Architects, will tell its magnificent story by playing with light and darkness, music and images, spatiality and invisible shapes, tempo and video animation.
In the pedestrian area of Vokiečių Street, you will find the enchanting installation SOLEIL NUIT MIZAR, designed and created by the French dance and theatre lighting designer Sébastien Lefèvre. The impressionistic composition, one half of which, the “Sun”, changes during the day as the light penetrates the clouds, and the other half, the “Night”, becomes a shining star after dark, will entice you to admire the dance of multicoloured reflections.
The FIREFLY FIELD, a light installation by the Dutch multidisciplinary design studio Teor, imitates the flying Jonwobbles in the courtyard of the S. Nėries Gymnasium. Project that has visited many countries and aesthetically conveys the mood of dynamic light will arouse the curiosity of festival young and old visitors and make them smile.
French artists Gregory Lasserre & Anais met den Ancxt, known as Scénocosme, will offer the courtyard of the Lithuanian Museum of Theatre, Music and Film as part of their unique interactive tactile and sound installation URBAN LIGHTS CONTACTS. The sensory artwork, which transforms the audience’s bodies into real-sounding instruments, questions the perception of the proximity of another person.
In St Catherine’s Church, the fully interactive kinetic light installation FLUX by Collectif Scale from Paris will create a unique experience. The object’s architecture of rotating dynamic lines of light, together with the music, will form a “living” original robotic sculpture whose movements, light and sound will be intuitively controlled by the audience.
Philippe Morvan, a set and light artist who exhibited his installation Menschen in Vilnius last year, returns to the festival. This year, a light carpet made of recycled materials – the installation DOT – will be on display in the courtyard of the Teachers’ House. In this work, specially adapted for Vilnius, the light from light bulbs will perform a cosmic dance to the background of Lithuanian multipart songs.
Among the other five festival venues there is Tourist Information Centre (Pilies g. 2), which invites visitors to celebrate the 701st birthday of Vilnius and to admire the VILNIUS STIKLE installation in the centre’s shop windows from 6 p.m. on each day of the festival. There the usual symbols of the city and architectural masterpieces of Vilnius will take on an unconventional and playful form.
To find out whether a piano without a pianist is really just a piece of furniture and what its true concert and musical potential is, the project of the experimental audiovisual theatre Kosmos Theatre – the sound and light installation BALDAS – invites you to visit the Arts Printing House.
This is not the first time that the festival programme has included performances by young artists. This time, the exhibition ŠVIESOS SLĖPYNĖS by students of the Vilnius Art Academy will flirt with light in Užupis, on the Skersvėjo path by Jonas Mekas, and will be crowned by the light installation “Skersvėjo uodega” by Dutch artist Sije Verskis.
The Festival of Lights will also be announced by the installations that have become a tradition and a calling card of the festival: The tower of Gediminas Castle will be decorated with a bright crown of light, the work of light artist Arvydas Buinauskas, KVIETIMAS. The sword of the monument to the founder of Vilnius, Grand Duke Gediminas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, NŪDIENOS GEDIMINAS will shine in the Cathedral Square by Kipras Krasauskas.
The route will be guided by a mobile app
The mobile app will help visitors to view the event’s programme, plan their route and find all the festival’s attractions in a convenient and interactive way. It can be downloaded or updated on the App Store http://bit.ly/vilniuslightfestival or on Google Play http://bit.ly/vilniuslightfestival1.
K. Sirvydas Square – a place of rest and gastronomy
From 25 to 28 January, Vilnius residents and visitors will be able to take a break, enjoy a hot drink, satisfy their hunger and discuss new impressions at K. Sirvydas Square, also known as “French Park”, where a restaurant on wheels will be open from 17:00 to 23:00.
The 6th Vilnius Festival of Lights will take place from 25 to 28 January 2024, from 18:00 to 23:00.
