The Frankfurt Luminale Goes Digital

A biennial for light art and urban design, the Frankfurt Luminale is a celebration of lights held once every two years since 2002. It is one of the largest cultural events of Frankfurt and Offenbach with about 250,000 visitors and 150 projects.

But given the luck 2020 brought with itself, this light at the end of the tunnel also seemed to be dimming. But not anymore. The Luminale 2020 has gone digital as most of the artists had already set up their projects before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. The documented visuals from the final rehearsals are now available for the world to enjoy right on their screens. #Luminaledigital is a virtual, behind the scenes tour.

This year’s theme is the Digital Romantic, which explores the interaction between the Romantic era of art and the digital revolution. Light is used as both the medium and the muse to explore spaces that reach beyond the realm of the real world. It takes these spaces and juxtaposes them to the digital world and spark a debate whether there is a need for these spaces at all. According to Luminale, “Is digital the solution to conveying and reinterpreting (forgotten) analogue content? Can new images be created in the mind to counter the flood of endlessly incoming content? Does light art rapidly wear off as a staged event, or does it fulfil a yearning for the true, the beautiful, the good?”

To immerse yourself in an experience of light and dialogue, head to the Luminale website to glimpse into the virtual projects.