Leipzig Festival of Lights – Programme 2024
Festival of Lights 2024 – Programme
35 years of Peaceful Revolution
To mark the 35th anniversary, the Leipzig Festival of Lights on 9 October 2024 (7 p.m. to midnight) will take place along the entire inner city ring road along the authentic demonstration route. More than 20 national and international teams of artists will take up the historic events artistically and bring them to life in public space: spectacular mappings, projections, music, performances and other interventions will inspire and move tens of thousands. The giant 89 – built entirely out of candles and traditionally filled with thousands of lights by visitors – will be located on Augustusplatz in the anniversary year, where the opening of the Festival of Lights will also take place.
All projects and artists can be found here in the program overview, in the Explore Leipzig app (download Android version and download iOS version) – available in English and German – and in the official program booklet – available in German.
Special treat: In the anniversary year, the five light projects number 1, 4, 5, 6 and 13 can be seen beyond the evening of the light festival until the weekend. Two installations (no. 4 and no. 6) will change location. More about Festival of Lights XXL here in the program.
All stations at a glance
Opening, welcoming words and music
The evening begins on Augustusplatz with short welcoming speeches from Leipzig's Mayor Burkhard Jung, contemporary witnesses and representatives from the federal and state governments. The opening will be accompanied by music from the Saxon Wind Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Peter Sommerer. Pieces by Beethoven, Dvořák and Rheinberger will be performed.
The Saxon Wind Philharmonic Orchestra impresses its audience with an extraordinary variety of sounds. Of the 129 German concert and theatre orchestras, it is the only orchestra with a symphonic wind section and thus occupies a special position. With the OPUS Klassik award as ‘Ensemble of the Year 2023’, the special artistic quality at a high level was also recognised internationally.
All projects
EunJin Park, Cologne
Where did the hero come from?
On 9 October 1989, over 70,000 people demonstrated in Leipzig, demanding freedom and democracy. It was a powerful mass, but at the same time they were 70,000 individuals. Where did the hero come from? focusses on the individual who overcame their fears to change the world. At the same time, EunJin Park shows how seemingly small contributions by individuals can spark big changes. The secret heroes who brought about a peaceful revolution – where did they come from? They are visualized by numerous projectors in the St. Nicholas Church Square: the light projections show examples of people in everyday situations, entering the church and demonstrating, and stand for the demonstrators of the time who overcame their fears and moved towards freedom.
Mehr Informationen: www.eunjinpark.com
Tom Ritschel and Felix Ruffert, Leipzig
Der Erste macht das Licht an (The first one turns on the light)
"The last one switches off the light" was a common saying in the declining GDR and reflected the growing wave of emigration at the time. At the same time, the number of demonstrators grew. Der Erste macht das Licht an (in English: The first one turns on the light) picks up on the energy of this protest. At Georgiring, today it is important to be loud, because Ritschel and Ruffert use acoustic cameras to transform the volume of the passing festival visitors into energy and colour. The people passing by, control the projection by shouting, clapping or even singing.
Xenorama, Potsdam and Bremen
'89-Blickwinkel ('89 point of view)
'89-Blickwinkel creates a place where different perspectives on the political events of 1989 are exchanged and brought into the public space. The façade of Leipzig Central Station (east front) becomes the setting for a public discourse. Beforehand, Xenorama interviewed Leipzig citizens and contemporary witnesses about the events of 1989 and the accompanying changes. The video interviews were then supplemented with animations and sounds and combined into a projection. '89-Blickwinkel is deliberately not a projection mapping in the classic sense, but a participatory video installation in public space that is intended to stimulate discourse on social and cultural issues in connection with the revolution of 1989 and Leipzig.
Gijs van Bon, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Stringed
In the installation Stringed, moving points of light are joined together to form letters. Seemingly floating and scattered in the air, waves of animated points of light come together to form words that disappear again just as quickly as they appeared. Stringed consists of seven LED strips (or “strings”) controlled by programmable electronics. These LED strips form a long text display on which a predetermined text moves from right to left. The LED strips start at different points. The points of light that make up the letters are so far apart that the letters initially are unrecognizable. However, as the points of light move along the LED strips to the right, the LED strips join together and the text slowly becomes recognizable and legible, the message becomes clear.
Maix Mayer, Leipzig
Blaues WundAR (Blue WondAR)
As a Leipzig resident, Maix Mayer actively participated in the 1989 Monday demonstrations on the Leipzig Ring and documented them on video. The most important point of view for the media documentation of the demonstrations at the time was the pedestrian bridge that was demolished in 2004 – known by the people of Leipzig as ‘Blue Wonder’. Using augmented reality (AR), the structure can now be experienced again in the city centre at its old location. Mayer's Blaues WundAR app virtually rebuilds the bridge, turning the ‘Blue Wonder’ into a ‘WondAR’. A mobile phone camera is used to overlay the live mode with a 3D animation of the bridge.
The “Blue WundAR” app is available for Apple devices in the AppStore: Download here
As soon as the Android version is available, you will find the link here: https://blaueswunder.maixmayer.studio/
Loomaland, Berlin
FREIHEIT? (FREEDOM?)
At first glance, the installation FREIHEIT? (in English FREEDOM?) looks like a random arrangement of light lines in space: a filigree, three-dimensional illuminated Mikado. In fact, FREIHEIT? is a so-called anamorphosis, in which an image can only be recognized from a very specific angle. The big question of FREIHEIT? only arises in the correct viewing axis.
The installation thus symbolizes the fragility of all the moving parts that had to come together in order for freedom to be born in one night and in one place. The question mark, however, forms the bridge to the present: freedom is not a permanent state, but must be constantly reworked. The installation consists of LED steles that are placed freely in the room.
Sven Bergelt, Leipzig; supervised in collaboration with Juliane Jaschnow and Dieter Daniels (all Leipzig), Hana Hazem Arabi, Li Huhn, Dayoung Jung, Emanuel Aeneas Megersa/Michael Schlecht, Cajetan Scheliga-Atef, Asya Volodina
We, We, We and We
Based on the slogan "We are the people" and its reinterpretation to this day, the works examine the "we" as a political act and assertion under the motto We, We, We and We. Under the direction of Sven Bergelt, students from the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig developed artistic video works and performative installations. These critically examine the memory of a sense of "we" from 1989, the question of the visibility of marginalised "we" groups and the struggle of various groups for power and control. The students' works form a parcours of video screens and installations that give visitors to the light festival access to various "wes".
Liudmila Siewerski (Art & Project Direction), Katia Sofia Ditzler (Libretto), Marisol Jiménez (Composer), Liudmila Siewerski & Charlotte Bach (Video, 2 and 3D graphics), Berlin
Fortuna. Futura. Libertas.
In the run-up to the Festival of Lights, people of all ages and from all walks of life were randomly asked to make statements about their dreams and their idea of democracy and freedom. The statements were condensed into a hybrid text and combined with sound and supplementary illustrations to create a poetic collage. Motifs from the statements were taken up visually and supplemented with 3D elements. The result is an audiovisual fabric that links past and future. The compositional principle is based on the moiré effect, which is created when two objects are superimposed and interactions occur. Fortuna. Futura. Libertas. is intended to illustrate the fortunate confluence of circumstances that led to the Peaceful Revolution.
Cooperation partner: Stiftung Forum Recht
Find out more about the artists:
Heelemann & Scheibe, Weimar
Reflexion
When resistance began to form in the GDR in 1989, people took to the streets with banners and posters. The interactive installation Reflexion shows these protests in the form of projected photographs – taken at the end of 1989 in Leipzig city centre. The demands and slogans on the banners were removed for the Reflexion project. The now blank white spaces invite the audience to remember or reposition themselves 35 years later. What did we demand back then? What does 1989 mean today? What do we want to stand up for today? Visitors can write their thoughts digitally on the projected banners using a touchscreen. This creates a special atmosphere between the past and the future in the present.
Anke Stiller, Weimar
Vertrauen – Freiheit – Verantwortung (Trust – Freedom – Responsibility)
Anke Stiller has been collecting statements from citizens on the concepts of Vertrauen – Freiheit – Verantwortung (in English: trust – freedom – responsibility) since 2022. To this end, she designs poster templates that are presented in museums, social institutions and marketplaces, among other places, and completed and customized by visitors. One thousand posters have already been created in this way. In the run-up to the Festival of Lights, there were also several workshops where visitors had the opportunity to develop individual posters, which will be on display on 9 October. On the evening of the light festival, visitors are also invited to literally bring their interpretation of trust, freedom and responsibility to the street when Anke Stiller asks: "Trust is ...", "Freedom is ..." and "Responsibility is ..."
Philip Ross, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Barriere
The interactive light installation Barriere is composed of nineteen bright, vertical beams of light referring to the Iron Curtain. The light beams react to touch and can therefore be moved by visitors to the festival of lights. In their default state, the beams remain connected to each other like a curtain – until an opening is created by pushing the beams. The sensation of opening the barrier through touch conveys the feeling of breaking through a barrier: First you perceive how the barrier hinders the view of what lies behind it. Then you experience how opening the barrier reveals the view, and also frames this view. The catch: as soon as people withdraw from the light beams, the curtain closes again. The project thereby demonstrates that an open society requires constant efforts to remain open.
AlexP, Uithoorn, Netherlands
Menschenmenge (Crowd)
The project Menschenmenge digitally recreates the 1989 demonstrations, but with people who visit the Festival of Lights 35 years later. The project does so using an moving projection, using rainbow-coloured silhouettes of walking people. The use of the colours of the rainbow symbolizes the inclusion of all people. The moving image of the demonstration is not a movie clip playing in a loop, but is live generated from recorded images. Beforehand and during the evening, people will be filmed, walking on a slowly moving, customized treadmill. The recorded footage of someone walking, is processed by a computer to extract a moving silhouette. The most recent moving silhouettes are used to create a large crowd (in German Menschenmenge) of people walking in a demonstration.
Fils de Créa, Lyon, France
Passage
The Fils de Créa collective designed a monumental light and sound installation especially for the Leipzig Light Festival 2024: an oversized door six metres long and 4.2 metres high, which symbolises the Wall and its opening at the same time. Passage consists of around 500 used, recycled lights that reflect as many of the experiences of those involved in 1989. The installation envelops visitors in a chromatic, visual and sonic aesthetic. The lamps were donated in advance by local residents, resulting in a wide variety of different lamp types, shapes and colours. In addition, 120 lamps with a Leipzig motif are being used at Passage. These are lamps with a sculptural relief, so-called lithophanes. The special feature: They are made from bioplastics using 3D printing by the Leipzig-based company Glashaus 3D GmbH. PLA polymers (lactic acid) are used for production, consisting of renewable, food-safe and recyclable raw materials. Although this makes the lamps biodegradable and compostable, they are far from being obsolete after the Leipzig Festival of Lights and will be sold and reused. No waste is produced during the manufacture of the lamps and 14 trees are planted to offset CO2 emissions. A soundtrack of archive sounds from October 9, 1989, sound effects and music completes the installation.
Ewa Meister, Johanna Ralser, Judith Selenko, Leipzig
Erinnerung transformieren (Transforming memories)
With Erinnerung transformieren, the artists and cultural practitioners Ewa Meister, Johanna Ralser and Judith Selenko pose the question of how a "society of the many" remembers itself. The project endeavours to multiply perspectives on often one-sided historical narratives and to expand them through intersectional, (queer) feminist voices. The main focus is on the civil society engagement of emancipatory movements before and after 1989 and reflects on their indispensable role for democratization processes in a global context.
Yvon Chabrowski, Berlin, Christina Werner, Vienna
Für ein offenes Land mit allen Menschen (For an open country with all people)
The light project focuses on a central demand of 1989: the banner with the inscription ‘For an open country with free people’ was unfurled after the prayer for peace on 4 September 1989 and held in front of the St Nicholas Church by Gesine Oltmanns and Katrin Hattenhauer. The action was filmed by Western media and went around the world – it also spread rapidly in the GDR. It was the beginning of the mass movement. The installation Für ein offenes Land mit allen Menschen gives women a voice and adds perspectives to the narrative of the Peaceful Revolution that had previously been less heard. After all, revolution was and is also feminine: Women were involved in groups such as ‘Women for Peace’ and played a key role in the conception of the Neues Forum.
Project of Partner City Lyon with "Platform for German-French Art" as well as Centre de Formation Désoblique, Lyon, Physical Theatre MOVEO, Barcelona, and Tanz-Zentrale Leipzig
The project is funded by the Saxon State Ministry of Justice and for Democracy, European Affairs and Equality, Sparkasse Leipzig and the International Cooperation Department of the City of Leipzig.
(De)konstruieren ((De)construct)
(De)konstruieren combines dance performance with light, sound design and stage design. The performers from France (Centre de Formation Désoblique), Germany (Tanz-Zentrale Leipzig) and Spain (Physical Theatre MOVEO) bring different artistic approaches, languages and cultural backgrounds to the table. This results in tri-national groups with a common body language, which alternately interact with the lighting and stage design over the course of the evening.
Lyon has been a twin city of Leipzig since 1981.
Project of Partner City Krakow, Polish Institute Berlin/Leipzig branch, Harald Kirschner, Leipzig
Kraków grüst Leipzig
To express their solidarity with the democracy movement in the GDR, Polish civil rights activists from the Freedom and Peace Movement organized a happening in front of the GDR Culture and Information Centre in Krakow on 5 October 1989. During a demonstration, the protesters walled up the door of the GDR institute and called on people to practice tearing down a wall for Berlin. Slogans such as "Freedom for the GDR", "Tear down the Berlin Wall" and "Kraków greets Leipzig" could be read on banners. Leipzig photographer Harald Kirschner documented the situation. This material is projected onto the façade of the IntercityHotel and draws attention to the solidarity in the neighbouring country.
Krakow has been a twin city of Leipzig since 1973.
Project of Partner City Frankfurt am Main, Atelier Markgraph (concept), ZORN x Jasna Fritzi Bauer (text selection), bright! Studios (video, motion design)
Ode an die Demokratie (Ode to democracy)
The Ode an die Demokratie was presented for the first time in 2023 to mark the 175th anniversary of the Paulskirche constitution in Frankfurt am Main. To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution, this project by the twin city of Frankfurt is being adapted for Leipzig. Under the motto "We are looking for your poem", the artist duo ZORN x Jasna Fritzi Bauer called on people to contribute their thoughts on democracy. During the Festival of Lights, those texts are being projected onto the façade of the Evangelical Reformed Church and complemented by visual effects and sound. The result is a multimedia production that invites you to feel and reflect.
Frankfurt am Main has been a twin city of Leipzig since 3 October 1990.
Im Auftrag der Stadt Frankfurt am Main als Partnerstadt von Leipzig wird dieses Projekt gefördert durch die Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main und Stabsstelle Stadtmarketing. Die Inszenierung entsteht in Kooperation mit Atelier Markgraph, ZORN x Jasna Fritzi Bauer und bright! Studios.
Project of the Partner City Brno, JAMU Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, Brno
Counting sheep
The performance Counting sheep about the archetypal roles of sheep and wolf takes a critical look at the world and asks: What has changed since the Peaceful Revolution, what has remained the same? What is missing? The desire to belong, the striving for security. Or is it insecurity, manipulation and power? All animals are equal, but some are more equal. We are not sheep!? Counting sheep is a live performance with projection and sound that uses various theatrical means to create a constantly changing image. Live video mapping on performers in masks and costumes complements the project as well as interaction with visitors to the Festival of Lights.
Brno has been Leipzig's twin city since 1973.
Partner project with Light_Art_Experience (LAX) in cooperation with the Gasteig (Munich) and the Citadel of Saladin (Cairo/Egypt)
Global Village: Die Welt, dein Dorf (The world, your village)
Since 2021, Light_Art_Experience (LAX) has been projecting large-scale artistic projects onto the oversized façade of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. To mark the Festival of Lights 2024, LAX wants to illuminate the Ring Café in a spectacular light. The motifs, designed by visual artists (across all disciplines), pupils from regional schools and social organizations involved in workshops, will be projected onto the façade of the Ring Café, sending a powerful message of diversity and cohesion. The light installation will be accompanied by representatives of the performing arts. Their means of expression (language, music, dance) correspond with the visual contributions and open up further spaces for artistic and political discourse.
Participating artists include: antiwarcoalition.art and YermilovCentre Kharkiv with the video contribution “Sense of Safety. Bridges of Solidarity” and Paul Altmann with the installation #Parlamentäre.
Partner project with the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (HGB): Tianxu Liu, Merlin Rainer, Eszter Szöke and Samuel Ellinghoven)
Project concept: Juliane Jaschnow, Dieter Daniels; supervised in collaboration with Sven Bergelt
Unvereint/Vereint (Ununited/United)
Based on the historical significance of Augustusplatz (formerly Karl-Marx-Platz) for the political upheaval of 1989, its consequences and today's uses in the culture of remembrance, students of the HGB Leipzig have embarked on a search for clues: What about the public visibility of the various historical layers of the square, such as the location of the Karl Marx relief in GDR times? How do those born after 1989 view the differences between East and West? How is it possible to unite and stand up for common values? The installations encourage reflection on 1989.
All artistic teams at a glance
EunJin Park, born 1984 in Seoul, Korea, received her diploma in Media Art from the Academy of Media Arts Cologne in 2017. She received her Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from Hansung University in Seoul in 2007. Her exceptional artistic skills have helped Park win numerous scholarships and awards, including third place at the Cosmolights International Projection Mapping Competition 2022 in Greece. She has presented her work at renowned festivals and exhibitions worldwide, from Animafest Zagreb to the ZINEBI International Festival in Bilbao.
Tom Ritschel, born in Jena in 1967, has lived in Leipzig for 12 years. Due to his resignation from the FDJ in 1986 and his refusal to do military service in 1988, he was not admitted to high school and university in the former GDR. After reunification, he studied GDR history as part of the history course that was then possible and subsequently as a scholarship holder of the NRW Science Centre. He has been developing art and participation-based projects for over 25 years, including the interactive installation "Wi(e)derstände" and the digital city game "Schnapphans" in Jena with Felix Ruffert. Other projects range from artistic interventions in Bad Langensalza on urban transformation, a sound installation on the subject of solitary confinement "Hörgang Bautzen II" to the sound art radio programme "Mit dem Ohr durch die Wand" together with Moritz v. Rappard and Frank Bretschneider, which was realised in cooperation with Deutschlandradio Kultur.
Felix Ruffert, born in Jena in 1972, studied art and German language and literature at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and continued his studies at the Bauhaus University in Weimar. He has been working as a freelance artist, private lecturer and secondary school teacher since 2007. Ruffert has realised impressive art projects in public spaces, including "Jena leuchtet" and "Treibhaus" in Norway. His participation in international exhibitions includes works in Norway, Venice and Japan. His work is characterised by diverse artistic interventions in public spaces, including "Abfallprodukt" in Berlin and "Transmission" in the Neues Museum Weimar.
How can space be poetically designed using modern media?
The six-member artist collective Xenorama explores this exciting question, finding diverse forms of expression at the interface of film, sound, installation and performance.
The artists, who have different creative focuses in their work, combine modern technologies with a fine sensitivity for digital narratives and atmospheric dramaturgy. Their stages are the theatre and public space, architecture, sculptures, organic structures and even the human body. The creative minds from Potsdam and Bremen always pursue a site-specific approach that integrates the history of a location and the people associated with it. In this way, places are re-contextualised, enlivened and made tangible. Their art is not simply spectacle, but is echoed in local discourse, even if some viewers may momentarily forget where they are on their sensory journey.
Their work has been exhibited worldwide and has won numerous national and international awards, including the Japan Media Art Festival, the International Mapping Festival Girona, LUMEN Prize London, Genius Loci Projection Mapping Festival and the Brandenburg Design Prize.
Gijs van Bon, born in the Netherlands, is an autonomous artist specialising in moving and interactive objects. He attended the Design Academy Eindhoven and the Utrecht School for the Arts. Represented by his own studio GIJS VAN BON as well as HHproducties and Galerie Wilms, he presents his works at international festivals and exhibitions. His most recent projects include "PING" in London, "Drop of Light" in Leeds and "StraatRover" in Nantes. His artistic presence extends from Europe to China and Canada. He has also exhibited his art at renowned events such as the Dutch Design Week and the Glow Festival.
Maix Mayer (born in Leipzig) lives and works as a media and conceptual artist in Leipzig. In his projects, Maix Mayer moves between photography, film and installation. He examines different narrative models of fiction and reality. The interplay of media/art and architecture is used as a constantly new matrix.
After graduating in fine arts at the HGB Leipzig, he completed a doctorate in media art at the University of Poznan. His artistic activities include numerous international exhibitions, awards and scholarships.
The two visual artists Denis Bivour and Florian Giefer are the artists behind the Loomaland label. In the autumn of 89, they were both teenagers and lived in both parts of Germany at the time. Today they live and work in Berlin. Since 2018, Giefer and Bivour have been working as an artistic team on various projects, including their highly acclaimed "Electric Swan Ensemble", which has been shown in Berlin, London, Manchester, Paris and Lucerne since 2020. At the Leipzig Light Festival 2021, they wowed audiences with the installation 89 Voices. Bivour and Giefer want to challenge the usual viewing habits with their installations and are firmly convinced that technology always needs a bit of magic to captivate people with their installations.
Hana Hazem Arabi (*1988 in Sweida/Syria) studies in the class for performative arts. Instagram: hana.hazem.arabi
Li Huhn (*2001 in Hamburg) studies in the class for Installation and Space. Instagram: ll.martine
Dayoung Jung (*1992 in Suwon /South Korea) studies in the class for installation and space. Instagram: dyjst_01
Emanuel Aeneas Megersa (*1987 in Munich) studies Photography and Expanded Cinema. Instagram: emanuel_aeneas
Michael Schlecht (*1980 in Ulm) is an artist and curator. www.michael-schlecht.de | Instagram: maikel_bad
Cajetan Scheliga-Atef (*1991 in Kiel) studies in the Painting and Graphics class. Instagram: bak.c.hos
Asya Volodina (*1983 in Moscow) studies in the Performative Arts class. Instagram: asyavolodina
Sven Bergelt (*1983 in Freiberg) is an artist and teaches at the HGB Leipzig. www.svenbergelt.de | Instagram: sven.bergelt
Liudmila Siewerski works with video and new media technologies in the fields of theater, contemporary art and music. The artist combines her interest in digital/generative graphics, video art, architecture and urbanism to reimagine large-scale installations and site-specific projections as a place for contemplation. She holds an MFA degree from the Academy of Fine Arts Helsinki and the UDK Berlin.
Katia Sophia Ditzler lives and works in Berlin and Bochum. Her educational background includes various studies, including creative writing, cultural anthropology and shadow puppet theater in Leipzig as well as study visits to Ukraine, Russia and Indonesia. The artist works interdisciplinarily between text, sound, video, performance and digital media. She demonstrates her artistic versatility at art exhibitions in Germany, the UK and Switzerland as well as in performances at festivals.
Charlotte Bach's art focuses on the staging of audiovisual worlds of experience, immersive experiences through digital media art, 3D mapping and live VJ performances. In her work, she blurs the boundaries between analog and digital content and creates a bridge between nature and technology, dream worlds and reality. For more than five years she has been working for light festivals such as the Festival of Lights in Berlin, Berlin leuchtet, Genius Loci and Hannover Leuchtet, where she has gained a wide range of experience in technical set-up and organization.
Marisol Jiménez is a composer, performer and multidisciplinary artist from Guadalajara, Mexico, currently based in Berlin. She is described as a “creator of a deep, original musical discourse”. Her work expresses an intense fascination with the haptic process of sound production, an interplay of the entropic within structured musical mechanisms, colliding the primordial with the technological to seek powerful sensual and visceral energies. She completed a doctoral degree in composition at Stanford University in 2011 and a Master of Arts degree at Mills College in Oakland, California in 2005.
Anke Heelemann (1979) has been working with private photographs under the label FOTOTHEK since 2006. Her artistic practice comprises interactive-performative formats in which she uses media such as installation, photography, theatre, language and communication. Participation and involvement are at the centre of her work. An extensive artist archive with anonymous private photographs is the thematic and material starting point for her diverse works. The recontextualisation of the material enables new readings and invites the use of images outside of traditional art spaces in unexpected ways. This permanent re-evaluation and alienation creates a reflection on the construction of identity in photographs as well as on individual and collective memory.
Graphic designer and artist Christian Scheibe (1978) has been working in the field of light and media art for several years. His artistic work focuses on site-specific, thematic light installations in public spaces. His experimental arrangements move in the field of tension between the visible, urban world and its invisible, hidden stories. The confrontation between the representational and the non-representational is part of his dynamic light architecture. The surrounding space, as a projection surface and resonating body, connects with his works and opens up new perspectives for the viewer.
Anke Stiller, born in Rudolstadt in 1980, studied theatre studies, philosophy and musicology at the University of Leipzig and completed her diploma in fine arts at the Bauhaus University Weimar. In addition to her artistic work, she taught at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, first as an artistic assistant and later, in 2016/2017, as a visiting professor for experimental photography. Her cross-media works and performances have been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions and publications. She has received prestigious scholarships and prizes, including the Reclaim Award in Cologne and scholarships from the Kulturstiftung Thüringen (Thuringia Cultural Foundation).
Dutch light artist and designer dr. ir. Philip Roland Ross combines art with science: born in Deurne in 1978, he discovered his passion for design at an early age and, after completing his Master of Science in Product Design, went on to do a PhD in Industrial Design. In his dynamic and interactive light instalations, Ross combines technical expertise with social and aesthetic aspects. His internationally recognised work is shown in exhibitions worldwide. In addition to his work as owner of Studio Philip Ross, he was design director at Aesthetic Interactions B.V. and assistant professor at the TU Eindhoven.
AlexP consists of Alex Prooper (1963, The Netherlands) and Simone van Dam (1973, The Netherlands) Alex is a (digital) media artist. He studied physics, but ended up in the software industry over 35 years ago. He began working as a designer and developer for all kinds of computers and operating systems. Later on, he started to focus more and more on making art through his own developed software, and he has been working as a full-time artist for over ten years now.
Simone has studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Amsterdam and has been working together with Alex for the last fifteen years.
AlexP show their work at festivals, art exhibitions, galleries and museums. They have made work for several companies like Shell, Unilever and KPN. In the past years, among others, their work was shown during Light City Baltimore (USA), the Amsterdam Light Festival, the Amsterdam Dance Event, City of Light (Jyväskylä, Finland), Essen Light Festival (Germany), Prisma ART LIGHT TECH (Aveiro, Portugal) and in the Kröller-Müller Museum (NL). The art made by AlexP is always technical, but often based on or derived from natural phenomena. The artists examine systems and the patterns and behaviour as a result of these systems. They often involve the spectator in the system of the work of art, which makes it interactive.
Fils de Créa is a French collective of artists, craftsmen and technicians with the aim of carrying out any artistic and cultural project in a creative, social and responsible way. With seven regular members mastering complementary skills, the collective operates in synergy both on a creative and technical level. The most daring and versatile projects can thus be imagined, managed and brought to completion. As the name suggests, Fils de Créa (sons of design/creation), is a laboratory of artistic creation. It is deeply concerned with the issues of the world today, and more particularly the environment, which underlies its whole work. Re-using, transforming, making beautiful with plain, new with old, putting the human dimension first through participative installations – Fils de Créa uses the urban space to generate beauty and poetry through the most unexpected media, and challenge our intelligence in an effervescence of creativity that never fails to be both relevant and elegant. For this project, Adrien Bertrand designer, illustrator, scenographer, Marion Chauvin, designer, visual artist, scenographer Richard Fontaine, lighting engineer and programmer, and Jérémie Furno, sound composer, collaborate once again and combine their skills and know-how to propose an innovative, impactful and meaningful project.
“In memory of Jean-Philippe Corlin, our collaborator and friend, gone too soon."
Johanna Ralser works transdisciplinary in the fields of performing arts and artistic-curatorial practice. Ralser works as a research assistant in the Department of Curatorial Cultures at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig and is a founding member of SPACE TRANSFORMER e.V. Ralser also designs stage and costume images for various theatre and opera productions. Determined by a queer-feminist and anti-discriminatory perspective, Ralser is interested in experimental cultural formats that ask for a solidary effectiveness.
Judith Selenko works as a video and projection artist for numerous opera and music theatre productions, festivals, concerts and installations. New media and digital scenography, as well as the combination of art and technology, always play an important role in her work.
Engagements have taken her to the Berlin State Opera, the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, the Bregenz Festival and the Baden-Baden Easter Festival. In the field of contemporary music, her works have been shown at the Styrian Autumn Festival and Ö1 Musikprotokoll. In addition, Judith Selenko has repeatedly collaborated as a video artist with the Experimentalstudio Freiburg, with whom she realised the production "ODE" at the Schlosslichtspiele Karlsruhe and the ZKM, among others.
Ewa Meister works in the curatorial field, focussing on transcultural and transdisciplinary projects. From a theoretical specialization in art history and curatorial studies in Venice, Leuven and Leipzig, her path has led her to the practical exploration of the potential of encounters with art and culture. After holding the position of curatorial director of the producing gallery intershop, her path led her to Chemnitz as project coordinator of Klub Solitaer e. V. She also works freelance and project-based, primarily in the context of her co-founded organization SPACE TRANSFORMER e. V.
Christina Werner, born in Baar, Switzerland, lives and works in Vienna. She studied photography and media art at the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig. Her works have been exhibited internationally in renowned institutions and museums, including the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, the Goethe Institute in Los Angeles and the National Gallery - Fair Trade Palace in Prague. Her work ‘Rhythm is a dancer’ is currently on display at the Bauhaus Museum Dessau. In her work, Werner explores the themes of nationalism, memory culture and identity formation in the context of socio-political issues.
Yvon Chabrowski, born in East Berlin, lives and works in Berlin and Leipzig. Chabrowski studied photography and fine art at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig and at the École nationale supérieur des beaux-arts Lyon. The visual artist has gained international recognition through her participation in renowned exhibitions such as the Museum Arnhem, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein and the Odessa Biennale. Her video sculpture TERRITORY is currently on show at the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf. In her works, Chabrowski detaches media image formulas from their context, utilises performative strategies and creates expansive video sculptures that make perspectives and narratives tangible.
Organisation and participants
Plateforme: The Platform for Franco-German Art (Plateforme) is an independent association based in Lyon that was founded in 2007. The aim of Plateforme is to forge links between young artists from France, Germany and other European countries.
Lighting design
Benjamin Nesme & Marc Sicard (Luminariste)
The meeting of Marc Sicard (illustrator and designer) and Benjamin Nesme (lighting designer) was born out of a desire to tell stories for public spaces. They are inspired by places and events to unfold an exuberant and phantasmagorical universe.
in co-operation with
Lycée Branly, Lyon
Lycée La Martinière, Lyon
Tanz Zentrale Leipzig
MOVEO, Barcelona
Centre de Formation Danse Désoblique, Lyon
Cie Corps Au Bord, Lyon
ENSATT, Lyon
Choreografie
Natacha Paquignon, (Cie Corps Au Bord)
As a dancer and choreographer of the association Corps au Bord (CAB)/Compagnie in Lyon, Natacha Paquignon realises artistic projects in border zones: between disciplines, between art, territory and population, between dance and digital technologies, but also between professionals and amateurs. She incorporates experiences from judo, music, dance, the English language, university research, qigong and traditional Chinese medicine into her work. This eclectic background inspires her to conduct research into the concept of the boundary, the "in-between". Most of her creations are evolutionary projects between performance and installation, which refine and change according to the place and the people who inhabit it. She is responsible for the dance programme of the Toï Toï Le Zinc stage in Villeurbanne.
Harald Kirschner, born in 1944 in Reichenberg (now Liberec, Czech Republic), grew up in Altentreptow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He completed an apprenticeship as a photographer in Loitz from 1963 to 1965 before studying photography at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig from 1968 to 1973 and graduating. From 1973 to 1981, he worked there as a trainee and university lecturer. Kirschner has worked as a freelance photographer since 1981 and was a photographer for book publications at Pro Leipzig e. V. from 1993 to 2003. His work focusses on social documentary photography and reportage. Kirschner lives and works in Leipzig.
After studying in Leipzig and Warsaw, curator Bernd Karwen began working at the Polish Institute in Leipzig in 1999. There he focusses on literature, history and politics as well as other cultural projects. He is an honorary member of the Leipzig-Krakow City Partnership Association.
Twin city Krakow: civic pride meets royalty
Krakow (Polish: Kraków) is a charming, modern European metropolis that is also steeped in time-honoured tradition. It was the capital of Poland for many years and is still a vibrant cultural centre of Europe today.
In September 1973, a partnership agreement was signed between Leipzig and Krakow, which was renewed in 1995 under the new political conditions.
As early as 1969, a Polish Information and Cultural Centre was opened in Leipzig, which today has its headquarters on the market square as the Polish Institute Berlin - Leipzig Branch. Leipzig has a dense network of partners - institutions and citizens' associations - that are active in the German-Polish context. The current focus of cooperation with Krakow is in the areas of culture and social affairs. Leipzig and Krakow celebrated 50 years of twinning in 2023.
This project is sponsored by Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main and Stabsstelle Stadtmarketing on behalf of the City of Frankfurt am Main as Leipzig's twin city. The production is being realised in cooperation with Atelier Markgraph, ZORN x Jasna Fritzi Bauer and bright! Studios.
Atelier Markgraph is an independent and owner-managed studio for brand and themed experiences based in Frankfurt am Main. The company conceives, designs, plans and realises spatial experiences and supports its international clients from the fields of culture, business and science in the creation of immersive experiences.
ZORN x Jasna Fritzi Bauer: Katharina Zorn and Jasna Fritzi Bauer have been working as an artist duo and writers since 2018. Since 2019, the two have been exploring cross-border disciplines in the multimedia field in addition to lyrical writing. In addition to haptic installations, they also create audio and video installations. In 2020, they founded the non-profit organisation HEUTESCHREIBEICH e. V. (now ZORN x Jasna Fritzi Bauer) with the aim of promoting creative and lyrical writing in schools, among other things.
bright! Studios: bright! is a visual design and media technology studio near Frankfurt that specialises in the design of events, shows, radio productions and trade fairs. bright! is one of Europe's leading service providers for the development of augmented reality formats and interactive digital brand experiences.
JAMU Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, Brno
The Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno is a university for music and theatre. JAMU is one of two universities for music and theatre in the Czech Republic. It was named after the composer Leoš Janáček and was founded in 1947. Janáček (1854–1928) spent most of his creative period in Brno.
The lighting design course is the youngest at the theatre faculty of the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts Brno (JAMU) and the only one of this specialization in the Czech Republic. Within the university, there is close co-operation with the departments of Audiovision and Stage Design. The lighting design programme has been in existence since 2013.
Pavla Beranová
Pavla Beranová heads the Master's programme in Lighting Design at JAMU Brno together with Vladimír Burian and Dita Dvoráková.
Twin city Brno
Leipzig has a very lively twinning relationship with Brno, which has been characterized by close ties and sustainable exchange, especially since the renewal of the twinning agreement in 1999. The special thing about this partnership is that Brno and Leipzig have many parallels, and mutual relations have steadily intensified. Regular visits by employees of the city administrations, contacts with citizens and an in-depth exchange, particularly in the cultural, social and sporting fields, are an expression of the active cooperation since the twinning was established in 1973. With a population of just over 381,000, Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravia region.
The Light_Art_Experience (LAX) is a large-scale artistic project that has been established at the Battle of the Nations Monument in Leipzig since 2021 and, with its unique performance of large-scale projection onto the monument's oversized façade, has a unique selling point in the German cultural scene. The artistic interpretations of (civil) social issues are the creative focus of the artists. The artistic interpretations of (civil) social issues are the creative focus of the artists. LAX explicitly does not see itself as a commercial event, but rather as an offer by committed creators from the centre of society to use art to give space and visibility to the issues of the day and to invite people to engage in joint discourse. The location of Leipzig/Saxony in eastern Germany is of particular importance and urgency: the increasing fear of loss among many people and the diffuse feeling of being "left behind" in combination with the polycrises that exist around us are fuelling anti-democratic resentment and weakening pluralism and the open, tolerant coexistence of the many. The group is facing up to this threat with courage and commitment: With a focus on community participation, all interested parties are invited to support the Light_Art_Experience with their work and civic engagement. To this end, LAX develops collaborations with socio-cultural groups, associations and organizations from a wide range of backgrounds and offers them a platform for democratic expression and programmatic debate.
Following the great success of the 2021 and 2022 events and the associated attention from international cultural institutions, the artists dared to take the step out of the regional sphere and sought to take a leading role in the development of the LAX.
Participating artists include: antiwarcoalition.art, YermilovCentre Kharkiv and Paul Altmann.
Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (HGB)
Founded in 1764, the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig is one of the oldest state art academies in Germany. Around 600 students are currently studying in the four degree courses Painting/Graphics, Book Art/Graphic Design, Photography and Media Art.
Tianxu Liu (*1992 in Tianjin/China) studies in the class for installation and space. Instagram: tianxu_liu
Merlin Rainer (*2000 in Potsdam) studies painting. www.merlinrainer.de/Instagram: merlinrainer
Eszter Szöke (*1996 in Wachtendonk) studies in the class for installation and space. www.eszterszoke.com/Instagram: eszter___szoke
Samuel Ellinghoven (*1997 in Munich) studies in the class for installation and space. www.sellinghoven.com/Instagram: sellinghoven
Juliane Jaschnow (*1989 in Chemnitz) is a filmmaker and artist and teaches at the HGB Leipzig. www.julianejaschnow.de
Dieter Daniels (*1957 in Bonn) is an art historian and media theorist, Professor of Art History and Media Theory at the HGB Leipzig (1993-2024). www.dieterdaniels.de/Instagram: dtrdnls