News

9 January 2015

The Lux Helsinki light festival, arranged for the seventh time between 4 and 8 January 2015, brought over 200 000 visitors from Helsinki, the rest of Finland and around the world to the centre of the city. The fire performances by the Fire Circus Walkea in Senate Square were witnessed by an audience of around 28 000 over a period of five days. One of the themes of the festival this year was audience participation: spectators were actively involved in artworks which they could help to complete. Lux Helsinki is organised by the City of Helsinki and is free for visitors. 

The installations were created by artists from various fields from Finland, Germany, France, Belgium and Japan. The installations were on display at 13 venues around Senate Square, in the neighbourhood of Kansalaistori Park, and at Annantalo. The One Minute of Fame installation, which moved around the city from day to day, was seen on Keskuskatu, in Narinkkatori, Mannerheim Square and Rautatientori, and at Annantalo. The festival included a total of 17 light installations. 

The festival's additional programme included light-themed exhibitions, guided walking tours, a festival opening club and special offers tailored to festival-goers by restaurants. 

“The festival supports the City of Helsinki’s strategic objective of arranging events that are free and open to all residents and visiting tourists. It is lovely to see how the audience actively participates in the light festival across the whole city each year. We want to thank all the visitors”, says Head of City Marketing at the City of Helsinki Saila Machere.

“The festival is known both in Finland and internationally, and for many, participation in the event has become a tradition. The number of light installations is such that everyone can find an installation that interests them. As a modern urban event, Lux Helsinki also brings forward current themes that divide public opinion, thus distinguishing itself from more entertaining light events. The purpose of art is to provoke debate,” comments Artistic Director Ilkka Paloniemi.

“The event is more versatile thanks to several partners, for which we are grateful. The audience has expressed a wish that cafés and restaurants in the city centre could stay open in the evenings while the event is going on. Currently, there are 18 partner restaurants, but there is room for more", Saila Machere says. 

The event’s Artistic Director is Ilkka Paloniemi and the Technical Director is Matti Jykylä. Sun Effects Ltd is in charge of production. The next festival will take place in January 2016.

See pictures of the 2015 festival at the gallery.

2 January 2015

Ilkka Paloniemi, the artistic director of Lux Helsinki, wrote the head article to January's edition of Helsinki This Week magazine. We are happy publish the editorial with the permission of the magazine.

In Finland, the year paces itself according to the seasons. We enjoy an abundance of natural light during the summer months, but must primarily rely on artificial sources of illumination in wintertime.

It is natural for people to yearn for the light. If the lighting of our everyday environment here in Finland were more interesting and of a higher quality, we might be able to take a more positive view of the winter darkness instead of letting it cause us anxiety. In place of travelling south to look for sunshine, we could see the winter as a source of joy and illuminate our environs to honour the white season. This is an opportunity that should be seized during the dark months of the year.

The dim months of winter serve as a magnificent setting for Lux Helsinki. The festival provides our everyday cityscape with a shot in the arm in the middle of the darkest time of year. Art is brought out of galleries and museums into the urban environment: Lux Helsinki's high-quality light art also opens the doors to city spaces that are rarely visited by the public. This event is aimed at the whole family and it encourages participants to discover fresh perspectives on Helsinki and use their smart phones to record digital memories of unique moments that are fun to recall.

Lux Helsinki 2015 celebrates our city's 20-year history of light-themed events. This tradition is rooted in the Forces of Light event, which was first held in 1995. Lux Helsinki is now being arranged for the seventh time and it continues on the path set out by Forces of Light.

The year-round positive influence of light on personal wellbeing is widely recognised. The city's permanent light fixtures could also be more daring – it would make sense for urban planners and builders to make more use of the ideas of creative artists.

Art is supposed to spur debate. As a modern urban event, Lux Helsinki will also showcase topical and divisive themes in order to distinguish itself from more entertainment-oriented light events. In accordance with this theme, Lux Helsinki 2015 will focus especially on works that engage the public.

Lux Helsinki transforms the city into something like a giant theatre, with spectators themselves playing important roles in plays staged at several venues.

Ilkka Paloniemi
Artistic Director
Lux Helsinki