Spotlight – Bucharest International Light Festival returns to Bucharest

Spotlight Festival is organized by the Capital City Hall, through ARCUB – the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Bucharest, together with the Directorate of Culture, Education, Tourism, with the support of Monument For – the General Directorate of Landscape Architecture and Public Monuments and is a member of The International Light Festivals Organization , announces PMB.

The Spotlight 2023 program starts at 20:00 each day of the festival and ends at 23:00. The route of this year’s edition starts from the intersection of Calea Victoriei with Piaţa Amzei street and continues on Calea Victoriei to the National Military Circle. Another hotspot of the festival is the headquarters of ARCUB – the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Bucharest, Hanul Gabroveni in Lipscani street 84-90.

Among the large three-dimensional installations, Neutrino, created by Circus Lumineszenz from Austria, is a large-scale reproduction of a subatomic particle and creates an impressive play of light, color and sound at Spotlight. After having been to light festivals in Amsterdam, New York, London or Niagara Falls, the spectacular Talking Heads installations (Limelight, Hungary) will be in George Enescu Square, for a lesson in communication without words. The creators of one of the most photographed installations of last year’s edition, from Kaustik, have set up a new 360-degree visual experience for Spotlight 2023 with a Roller Coaster in front of the National Art Museum of Romania. Spectators are invited to step inside hundreds of LED lights, which create a flow of light and recreate the thrill of a rollercoaster. Kretzulescu Park is populated by giant Lotus flowers (Module, France) that offer the public the experience of a poetic walk in which the games of light blend harmoniously with sound. And the French from Aérosculpture are experimenting with light to create the flowers of the FloWeЯ PoWeЯ kinetic installation, which can be admired at the Renaissance Memorial in Revolution Square”, according to the press release.

The graffiti artists of the Sweet Damage Crew join urban art artist Pisica Pătrată and illustrator Matei Branea to transform the Telephone Palace into a different visual spectacle every day of the festival. On Friday, April 21, one of the most acclaimed illustrators and muralists in Romania, Alexandru Ciubotariu, known under the pseudonym Pisica Pătrată, prepared for Spotlight the projection of Pisica Pătrată on the Telephone Palace.

On Saturday, April 22, the creator of animation film, comics and illustration, Matei Branea, presents the work Energoropa on the facade of the Telephone Palace, in which Europe is represented in the form of a goddess and the energy of nature. For the first time at the Spotlight Festival, artists from the Sweet Damage Crew exchange sprays and brushes for light art, street art for light projections and exhibit for the first time on the Art Deco architecture of the Palatul Telefoanelor on the last day of the festival, Sunday, April 23.

One of the most anticipated moments at the Spotlight Festival, the video mapping show on the National Military Circle is created this year by Vali Chincişan, winner of the “800th anniversary University of Salamanca 2018” award. The artist, who created video mapping works for Tsaritsyno Palace in Russia or Odawara Castle in Japan and participated in Kiev Lights Festival (Ukraine), 1minute (Japan), Novi Light Sensation (Italy), SSA Mapping (Brazil) and Art Vision – Modern (Russia), proposes to the public the work “Waves of the city: Traveling on the flow of feelings”.

The most awarded multimedia and video mapping studio in Romania, the winner of the video mapping contest organized in Spotlight 2018, Mindscape Studio, returns to Spotlight with two video mapping works on the facade of the Odeon Theater – Playtopia and Madrigal 60. Playtopia will transform the facade of the theater in a show that transports the viewer to the world of childhood. For Madrigal 60, the “Madrigal – Marin Constantin” National Chamber Choir collaborates with Mindscape Studio for the video mapping work marking the 60th anniversary of the Madrigal Choir.

Among the surprises of Spotlight – Geometry of the City is the presence in the festival of one of the most acclaimed artists of the new hyperrealist wave, Roman Tolici, who exhibits the work One Song on the facade of the InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest Hotel. This creates an enchanting space in the middle of the city, with a summer scene, captured in the oldest public garden in Bucharest, Cişmigiu Park.

“A series of statues come to life with the help of light projections and video mapping sessions prepared by Les Ateliers Nomad for the campaign initiated by Monument For – General Directorate of Landscape Architecture and Monuments of Public Forum. In the park of the Romanian Athenaeum, the Eminescu poetic universe comes to life in the video mapping show on the Statue of Mihai Eminescu, where spectators can even listen to poems by the famous writer. In front of the Central University Library, the equestrian statue of Charles I takes on new dimensions through a video mapping session signed by Les Ateliers Nomad. In Revolution Square, the public is invited to a history lesson at the Iuliu Maniu Monumental Ensemble. On the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great politician Iuliu Maniu, those from Les Ateliers Nomad have prepared a light installation through which the public can find out information about the life and achievements of the great statesman Iuliu Maniu.
The bust of Corneliu Coposu from Kretzulescu Park is also part of the circuit with a game of color and light.

The first new media art gallery in Romania, One Night Gallery, participates for the second time at the Spotlight Festival, this time with two installations made by Albert Kaan and Misha Diaconu. The festive atmosphere is maintained again this year by the Discoball installation from the Music Store, and the Catwalk installation shines the spotlight on the public Spotlight. Another hotspot of the festival is the Gabroveni Inn in the historic center, the headquarters of ARCUB – the Cultural Center of the City of Bucharest, which hosts the Stairway to Heaven light installation made by Les Ateliers Nomad.

“For the smooth running of the event, between April 21-23, 2023, between 19:00-23:00, road traffic will be restricted on Calea Victoriei, the segment between Dacia Boulevard and Regina Elisabeta Boulevard, without affecting the two intersections. During the restrictions, an emergency lane will be provided for car access to the institutions in the area”, it is mentioned at the end of the communique.