LIGHTING GUERRILLA 2024
18th international festival of light
TRANSFORMATION
24th May−22th June 2024
Ljubljana
18th International Lighting Guerrilla Festival
This year, Lighting Guerrilla which is considered to be a unique manifestation of this type in the Slovene space is officially entering adulthood – the 18th edition of the festival. This year’s festival takes place under the title theme Transformations; the selected works thematise and reflect on various aspects of changes and transformations that we witness in our environment or in our lives. Every work of art, of course, presumes a transformation of some kind, which unfurls both in the process of production itself and at the level of perception. We can understand the transformative potential of (visual) art as that characteristic of artwork with which it can influence the sensory perception of the viewer and the viewer’s consciousness and, as a result, also the wider society or culture. This potential can be very diverse, both in terms of intensity and content, and ranges from simple sensory pleasure to deeper cognitive changes that affect the understanding of our surroundings, society and interpersonal relationships. Moreover, works of art, especially the site-specific placements in the public space, which predominate at the festival, also cause the transformation of the environment itself, thus transforming it into spaces of boundless imagination and aesthetic contemplation. In drawing up the programme of this year’s festival, we were interested in the projects that, by means of original artistic language, highlight various aspects of transformations, both at the level of form itself as well as in the context of the space or at the level of the viewer’s perception.
This year, too, the centre of the festival is located in the Vžigalica Gallery (The Match Gallery) (where the exhibition will be on display until 1 September) or outdoors in its immediate vicinity; roughly speaking, one section of the placements extends from here via Soteska and Vegova Street to the north, all the way to the Small Gallery of the Bank of Slovenia or Argentinian Park, while the other section extends via Foerster Garden and Mirje to the embankments of the Gradaščica River. A series of light installations and video projections will be on display in public and gallery spaces, which can also be viewed on guided bike tours on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Productions as part of the workshop-educational platform, Lighting Guerrilla Laboratory, bring a series of works created within the pedagogical processes of educational institutions, with which we encourage new generations of young artists. Furthermore, there will be a number of débuts on display – the first independent works of young artists in the public space. At the end of the festival, we are also joining the Spider festival with two projects, whereas another project, authored by Nika Erjavec, shall see the light of the day in the autumn.
Given all the successes and achievements so far, the festival’s coming of age also seems like a good opportunity to once again draw attention to the topical situation into which independent cultural production is pushed. After many years of persisting in an uncertain financial and production situation, we still lack more suitable conditions for further activity and development, as well as a more constructive cultural policy, which would enable us to be more involved in the developmental processes of the existing social environment.
Cover photo: Cinzia Campolese: Equilibrium