Creative Lighting Pecha Kucha Sessions

Thursday 9 December

15:00-16:00 Pecha Kucha Session A

Noor Riyadh – Transforming a City into a Gallery without Walls

Presented by: Maya AlAthel, Artistic Manager at Noor Riyadh Festival &
Yasmeen Sabri, Head of Production and Operations for Noor Riyadh Festival, City of Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)

Noor Riyadh is a ground-breaking annual festival of light and art that nurtures creativity, promotes talent and delivers awe-inspiring experiences.

This presentation will take the viewers on a journey through the inaugural festival that took place on March 2020, and will provide an overview on what is expected for Noor Riyadh 2022.

Le lapin dans la lune (the Rabbit in the Moon)

Presented by: Renato González, Artist (Mexico)

Have you ever seen a rabbit in the moon?

Look closely, every night at moonlight he appears. The Rabbit in the Moon, is a tale of traditional and cosmogonic origin in which the god Quetzalcóalt / Feathered Serpent, emerges from the cosmos and travels to the earth to explore the world of men.

While he takes human form, he also obtains its weaknesses. Tired of his journey and starving, on the verge of death, he meets a rabbit who is totally unaware of his identity. The rabbit in an act of compassion and solidarity offers his body to save the life of the god Quetzalcóalt.

Recognizing his sacrifice, the god then reveals his identity and gives the rabbit an eternal place in the moon so that men can admire him forever, remember his sacrifice and his goodness, giving hope to humanity. The mythical Mesoamerican story of the “Rabbit in the Moon” explains why we can see the silhouette of a rabbit in the moonlight light. Through its parable, this tale teaches us the importance of solidarity and altruism, helping without expecting nothing in return. This tale exalts empathy and compassion between individuals.

Farnesina Digital Art Experience

Presented by: Claudio Caciolli, Founder and creative director of Bright Festival (Italy) & Stefano Fake, Founder of The Fake Factory and Art Director of Farnesina Digital Art Experience (Italy)

The Farnesina Digital Art Experience is an international project supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to enhance and promote Italian digital creativity in the world, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institutes and Bright Festival.

The project includes a collective digital art exhibition that will travel to many cities worldwide in 2021 and 2022. The Italian Cultural Institute in Lyon enabled participation within the Fête des Lumières 2021 supporting the realization of four site-specific digital artworks.

Plays Around ORGANuGAMME

Presented by: Raphaël Girouard, Landscape architect & lighting designer, Radiance35, Marseille (France)

ORGANuGAMME is a massive artistic and original creation by the artist “Danielle Jacqui”, pioneer of the brut and singular artistic stream. She’s mostly known for her ceramic and colossal creations, which are regrouped on this gigantic sculpture, in Renens, near Lausanne, in Switzerland.

Radiance 35, a lighting design company, based historically in Belgium and now in Aubagne near Marseille, France, has been chosen among several candidates to illuminate -ORGANuGAMME- for its participative way of working, including workers, artists, citizens, and stakeholders.

To create a new synergy around the artistic masterpiece, R35 developed different dynamic and theatrical workshops, creating plays and figures, mostly with children. The project is still in progress. Two workshops have been organised with the nearby (and young) population to this day.

16:30-17:30 Pecha Kucha Session B

Letting the lights out; creating a festival for, by and with the people of Ghent

Presented by Kaat Heirbrant, Coordinator of Ghent Light Festival, Ghent (Belgium)

Ever since the first edition of Ghent Light Festival, students and children have been involved in creating light artworks. In these difficult past few months for all festivals, the relevance of inculding people to co-create seems even more important.

Ghent Light Festival aims to include many different groups of inhabitants. The 2021 edition of the festival has participants from 1 to 85 years old, showcasing lightart in the streets, open and accessible to everyone.

My First Light

Presented by: BIBI, Artist, Rieux-Minervois (France)

BIBI uses familiar accessories, conceived with an eminently contemporary material which is plastic.  His work evolves around examining our relationship with the environment and our capacity to face contradictions created by garbage since 1991.

His approach also questions our perception of the public space. BIBI’s installations, whether durable or ephemeral, often showcase a magical beast that highlights the convergence of plastic objects and animal forms.

His light artworks have often been installed in alternative spaces for a few years but now circle the globe. BIBI’s approach, however, remains playful and above all ironic.

The City Makes Glow

Presented by: Tom Weerts, Production Manager, Foreign Affairs and Development, Glow Eindhoven (Netherlands)

Glow has been initiating light artworks made by children, young people and students for over eight years.

Each within their own possibilities, environment, fantasy and creativity and guided and inspired by light artists, mentors and Glow partners (companies).

This has become an indispensable part of the light festival and now has a global reach for participation.