A new edition of Llum BCN begins, the European festival curated by Maria Güell Ordis, Oriol Pastor, and José Luis de Vicente. The exhibition, consolidated as one of the most cherished cultural events by the people of Barcelona, inaugurates a new edition with proposals from different fields: contemporary art, design, architecture, technology, and lighting. It is a collective experiment of perception and participation, materialized in an urban laboratory in the Sant Martí district with the aim of exploring and contemplating the city from unprecedented perspectives throughout the weekend.
The festival raises its voice against climate change and that is why it will feature installations that address topics such as energy and sustainability. Another Moon, by the Korean collective Kimchi and Chips, proposes a new energy self-sufficient urban icon. It is a second moon drawn by solar-powered lasers that will float over the Parc Central de Poblenou. Artist Thijs Biersteker will also present an interactive kinetic sculpture named We Harvest Wind.
The air of Barcelona will host one of the festival's projects: Atmospheric Lighthouse. A real-time visualization of the state of the atmosphere will be witnessed, turning the Torre Glòries into a large luminous panel. On the other hand, at the DHUB, the Call Out installation will project a large light matrix that will draw the trace of satellites crossing the sky of Barcelona live.
Creative technologies and new ways of materializing light are the great generator of Llum BCN. In this edition, artists such as lighting designer Nick Verstand, with the reactive sculpture Anima, or the French Colectif Coin, with a large-scale and minimalist kinetic intervention on the Universitat Pompeu Fabra campus, will participate for the first time.
The festival will also welcome visual artist and environmental activist Joanie Lemercier, who will show Compositions Lumineuses (2023). This work presents geometric compositions created by a machine on one of the facades of Pere IV street.
The Barcelona artistic community will be represented by local Playmodes and by Brazilian artist Pedro Torres, resident at Hangar. This edition features the participation of fifteen art, design, and architecture schools from Barcelona, which present their installations throughout the exhibition space.
Llum BCN will exhibit playful interventions such as the immersive inflatables Architects of Air or monumental street art by the international artist of Madrid origin SpY. On the other hand, the celebration and expression of shared identity are at the center of the work of one of the most recognized artists of this edition: British artist Chila Kumari, one of the key figures of the British Black movement of the eighties. Her project, Liberty and Light, will decorate the facade of Can Framis with neon sculptures.
The twelfth edition integrates two new sponsors compared to the last promotion; Yamaha and the ISE fair, who have wanted to get involved in this festival, expanding its defining values such as commitment to new generations and technological innovation.
Off Llum BCN, the alternative
Poblenou Urban District joins the light festival. The fourth edition of Off Llum Barcelona will arrive at the parking lot of The Hoxton hotel, Pobenou. This route, which seeks to focus on experimental light art and local proposals from the neighborhood's creation and innovation spaces, can also be visited this Friday. This option will feature the installation Exos by Oscila, an exclusive creation by a Barcelona audiovisual design studio known for using light as a medium of expression and communication through immersive installations that appeal to emotions.
The Hoxton lobby will accompany the evening by serving a cocktail inspired by the creation only during the weekend. For a bite, the Four Corners pizzeria, located on the ground floor of the hotel, will offer New York-style pizza slices on its restaurant terrace.
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