Llum BCN is a leading European festival in the field of light arts and a cultural event highly appreciated by the citizens of Barcelona. Organized by the Barcelona City Council, Llum BCN reaches its fourteenth edition with an artistic program that transforms urban space into a new stage, showcasing the possibilities of light language in transforming public spaces. The festival features artistic proposals encompassing photography, audiovisuals, design, architecture, scenography, digital arts, and contemporary art, demonstrating the infinite creative possibilities of light.

From February 7 to 9, the Poblenou neighborhood and the surroundings of Plaça de les Glòries become the epicenter of the city’s cultural activity. This year, attendees will find fifteen installations by international artists, works from seventeen university-level design, art, and architecture schools in the city, eleven installations by local artists residing in Poblenou, and various proposals in cultural and commercial facilities. In the last edition, over 240,000 people visited the Barcelona Light Arts Festival.

In addition to the Llum BCN festival, sponsored by Yamaha, the 6th edition of “Off Llum BCN”will also be showcased. This platform is key for launching light designers and emerging artists in the field of light art. This year, several spaces will transform into stages for light installations, interactive performances, and immersive experiences that will connect with the public uniquely and surprisingly.

This edition complements the festival with an alternative circuit aiming to deepen the dialogue between light and public space, featuring works that reflect on themes such as sustainability, the use of artificial intelligence, and the impact of technology on contemporary society.

These are the three creators recommended by Time Out:

This year’s lineup includes original works by renowned creators such as photographer and conceptual artist Joan Fontcuberta, who presents an installation projecting virtual landscapes onto the DHUB façade. These landscapes are generated from the verses of Genesis, depicting everything from the emergence of light and darkness to the landscapes of the Garden of Eden. Film director and screenwriter Isaki Lacuesta also illuminates a corner of the festival with an immersive audiovisual experience that reflects on the echoes and imprints that always accompany us: A faint retroactive light / Tènue llum retroactiva. Set designer and lighting artist Laura Clos, known as Closca, presents Traffic Jam Zoom, a work that fuses art and sustainability. In the side garden of the TNC, half a dozen vehicles, stopped in chaotic formation, create a disturbing urban landscape. These three artists, coming from very different creative disciplines, embody the festival’s commitment to transversality and highlight the multidisciplinary potential of working with light as an artistic medium.

Maria Güell, the festival’s artistic director, continues to champion excellence and innovation with a program that merges technology, art, and creativity. This year, she will collaborate with international curator Martín Pošta, a key figure in the light art scene. Founder of the prestigious Signal Festival in the Czech Republic, Pošta has dedicated his career to promoting new forms of art based on emerging technologies, making this event an international reference.

For those on the other side of the world who cannot attend, here’s a tour of the 2020 edition where you can experience it up close.