The lights are off
Hundreds of thousands of visitors and residents came togehter during the dark winter months. Another successful edition in the books!
LEGACY
The fourteenth edition of Amsterdam Light Festival revolved around the theme of Legacy. What will we leave behind for future generations? How do we want to be remembered? Twenty national and international artists, inspired by the theme, created a mix of light artworks: projectios (e.g. Fracture Point), installations (e.g. I CONTAIN MULTITUDES), sculptures (e.g. Abri Maximaal), digital (e.g. RHAPSŌIDIA) and design (e.g. Swans).
Despite the cold weather in the final weeks of the festival, hundreds of thousands of visitors and residents paid a visit. Young and old got together in the city centre, on a busy route, admiring the artworks from both water and land.
A special artwork this year was Kwantumfantum Multiversum by artist collective Beeldjutters, a result of the education project. This year, 1600 primay school students from all city districts in Amsterdam participated. In a series of workshops they learned more about (light) art and made a visible contribution to the artwork. Next to that, a new social project was kicked-off, called Amsterdam Light for All. This initiative consisted of a special cruise for Amsterdam residents for whom a cultural outing is not a given.
Upcoming edition
Led by a new organisational and artistic direction, a new long-term artistic vision was developed. The festival wants to become (even) more rooted in Amsterdam, on both an artistic and social level. The coming years will be regarded as a 'living laboratory', where both makers and the organisation itself is going to experiment with new ways of programming, curation and collaboration.
The first steps took place this past edition, with collaborations with Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, Greenpeace, Het Scheepvaartmuseum and TestTafel. The goal of these projects is to show what else is possible with light art.
Edition 15 takes place from 26 November 2026 until 17 January 2027. Theme, programming and more will be revealed at a later date.
The Amsterdam Light Festival Foundation has an ANBI status and acts on a non-profit base. The festival is realised in collaboration with boat companies, residents, the municipality and cultural and social organisations.