For the eighth year in a row, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) has presented the Light Installations Festival at the Stavros Niarchos Park, a unique public lighting art experience and the only light installations festival in Greece, taking place every year for 5 weeks as part of the SNFCC Christmas World.
This year, from 1st December until 7th January, six spectacular light installations by eminent international and Greek artists were curated around the theme Dreamy Dreams: Dreamy Landscapes, transforming the Stavros Niarchos Park into a wonderland of light, colour and imagination. Swirling stars, bright planets, sound waves, pulsating thoughts, and mystical rituals invited visitors of the SNFCC Christmas World to transpose themselves into a world where cutting-edge technology meets dreamy visualisation.
The festival included collaborations with two major international public art agencies, Light Art Collection from the Netherlands and Wireframe Public Art Agency from Canada, while the Greek entries were selected through SNFCC’s annual open call granting proposals the amount of 30.000€ with the aim to promote the artistic medium of light installation amongst Greek designers.
All artworks implemented environmentally friendly practices in order to avoid light pollution and high energy consumption, in consistency with SNFCC’s commitment to the values of sustainability and innovation.
The artworks showcased in various locations within the Stavros Niarchos Park included:
-WAVE by Squidsoup (UK),
-ERROR by Vendel & de Wolf (NL),
-MOONBURN by Barstow Foundation (NL),
-PRESSURE by Hans E. Madsen and Frederik D. Hougs (DK),
-EFCHI [wish] by Everything Works (GR), an artwork produced following SNFCC’s annual open call,
-POMPE [procession] by Eleni Maragaki & George Nikas (GR). The artwork, produced and first presented in 2022 as part of the annual open call, returned in a different location of the Park following its successful presentation.
As part of the SNFCC Light Installations Festival, a number of guided tours was organised, giving visitors the opportunity to learn more information about each lighting installation and the creative team behind them. In addition, the installations gave inspiration for creative workshops, where children and families were encouraged to interact with the artworks and use them as case studies in order to learn about light technology and design. Last but not least, the installation Pressure situated at the Dome of Stavros Niarchos Park, became a vibrant background and interactive music and art experience for a series of events, such as a Silent Disco Party, a Sound Bath session and a series of concerts entitled “Under Pressure”, curated by the SNFCC Youth Council in order to promote young and emerging Greek musicians and performers.
The SNFCC Light Installations Festival was visited by more than 160.000 visitors of all ages from Greece and abroad, attracting wide coverage from the media, and television in particular. Throughout the years the festival has matured, expanded, and evolved into a core element of SNFCC’s annual programming and a landmark of the Athenian Christmas season, opening up exciting prospects for the future of the festival and the future of Greek light art in general.
