Amsterdam Light Festival
Although the previous editionf finished already a couple of months ago, the preparations for the coming Amsterdam Light Festival have started. From the 27th of November till the 18th of January, the city center of Amsterdam will be lighted by many light-sculptures. This nice concept is the result of a broad collaboration between the organisation, city government, local businesses and several cultural societies. We are happily anticipating the end of November. This time Amsterdam by Night puts its Spotlight at the Amsterdam Light Festival, featuring several artworks from the 2013 edition.
Origins
The Amsterdam Light Festival finds its origin in 2009 as an idea of Vincent Horbach and Henk Jan Buchel to give the city a bit more ambiance during the long dark winter nights. The first Christmas Canal Parade was organized and a new tradition was born. The following year Felix Guttmann joins the organization, en the artistic vision is further developed under the name Winter Magic Amsterdam. The Magere Brug is lighted according to a design of Rogier van der Heide en the parade takes a more professional approach. For the first time, all the canal boats put on decorative lights for the whole months of December.
The Amsterdam Light Festival
After skipping one year, 2012 sees the organization of the first real Amsterdam Light Festival. The focus mainly lies on the interaction between art, light and water. Along the Amstel river a Boulevard of Light is created with light sculptures. In the eastern part of the inner city you can walk along the Illuminade.
In 2013, the festival is further developed, and the Boulevard of Light is replaced by the canal route "Water Colours". The Illuminade in the eastern city center is maintained. Light artists from over the whole world show their creations in Amsterdam, creating an amazing atmosphere in the city center. Out of 300 proposals, the jury selected about 30 artworks for the exposition. Light sculptures like Temporal Tower (Todd van Hulzen/Studio Louter), Astera (T.I.L.T), Digital Origami Tigers (LAVA/Barrisol), Kalmen (Harm Bremer), Reflections (Teresa Mar) en Drawn in Light (Ralf Westerhof) show how to illuminate the cold winter nights in a creative way.
Amsterdam Light Festival 2014
The theme for the 2014 edition of the Amsterdam Light Festival is very fitting: "A Bright City". The organization has selected 33 concepts out of more than 260 proposals, and we are already looking forward to the realization of Light Bridge (Frank Tjepkema) and My Light is Your Light (Alaa Minawi). For more information you can take a look at the website of the Amsterdam Light Festival and be sure to visit their Facebook page to stay updated on the latest news. From 27th of November onwards we can enjoy Amsterdam with a little bit extra. Amsterdam by Night is already looking forward!
References:
- Amsterdam Light Festival op Facebook
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