The Luminale has been held in Frankfurt and Offenbach every two years since 2002. Originally established by Messe Frankfurt to accompany the Light + Building trade fair, it has become one of the largest cultural events in the Rhine-Main region, attracting about 250,000 visitors with 150 projects. The festival now aims to create a high-quality program in art and urban design while making sustainable contributions to the city.

The Luminale is presenting its program in five categories: selected positions of thematic light art in CURATED; lectures and talks with renowned experts in TALK; projects from universities and other educational institutions in STUDY; as well as projects that, with unique spirit, deal freely and experimentally with light and city outside the curated area in COMMUNITY. Finally, the BETTER CITY section is dedicated to all projects that will be permanently preserved in the city and thus contribute to the sustainability of the Luminale.

The heart of the Luminale in the urban space is the Light Walk, which combine interesting places into a walking tour of the city and a public gallery of light art. These locations tell the history of the city, proclaim the visions and desires of its inhabitants, create identity and shape the urban atmosphere. In such dynamically-changing cities as Frankfurt and Offenbach, new places emerge, squares disappear, fall into oblivion or become »un-places«. These witnesses of change, monuments and landmarks, will become venues and themes of light-art projects on the Light Walk. Note: Luminale 2022 is suspended due to the energy crisis; the next edition will take place in 2024.

Dates of the previous/upcoming edition: The 2022 edition was suspended due to the energy crisis. The next edition was planned for 2024 but has been canceled, with the following edition scheduled for 2026 (TBA).