The Jerusalem Light Festival celebrates its 11th year this Summer! The Jerusalem Light Festival operates throughout the Old City of Jerusalem, focusing on spreading light, connecting people, breaking walls and creating unity.
You can get more details from the Jerusalem Light Festival Website.
When?
The event, which will take place from June 26 to July 4, 2019, from 20:00 to 23:00 (Saturday night until 24:00), will present new light and technological art works that have been developed over the past year from around the world.
What?
There will be a choice of three colorful tracks that connect with each other. You will be able to enjoy illuminated artworks, participate in fun activities and to dance to the work of VJ, at a multi-sensory party that blends sounds and lights throughout the festival, on the walls of the city.
Admission is free.
Inside Info on the Main Installations!
The Blue Route
The Blue Route surrounds the city walls, starts at Tzahal Square, goes down to the Jaffa Gate through the Habonim Park to Zion Gate and the Dung Gate.
“The Light Trail” in Tzahal Square: A display by AVS – cinematic light columns create a large screen that displays from a distance a large picture, which breaks down into pieces, allowing visitors to move between the pieces and join in the animation of light and color. “Spread the light” on the walls of the Old City: The work of the VJ, which usually takes place inside the closed clubs, has been exposed into the urban space of the Old City and invites you to a multi-sensory party. Every evening three artists from the world will perform at the Jaffa Gate and present their works on the walls of the city. VJ Ari Dikier (Poland), VJ Alstroyan (Brazil), VJ EPS (Russia), VJ Sveta Rainish (Ukraine), VJ Tzhawesi Mashram (India). “Prismatic” at Jaffa Gate: RAW Design work in collaboration with Atromic3, Montreal, Canada. The work consists of rotating interactive saws that shed light and unusual colorful patterns in their vicinity. The circular sawing by the audience allows you to direct the reflections in different directions and spread it on.
Prismatic Credit: cindy boyce/doublespace Photgraphy
“MIRROR” in the Garden of the Beavers: Gil Teichman’s work that takes the audience into a world of unique and enveloping thousands of mirrors, intersecting rays of light and millions of reflections, and a huge and illuminated disco ball at a mirror at the Habonim Park. “Reflections of Reality”: A team from Serbia, composed of five street artists dressed in fascinating handcrafted suits made up of thousands of miniature mirrors that bring an extraordinary visual spectacle to the festival. “Light Everywhere”: A spectacular performance by a group of light artists from France. A thousand jars connected to solar rechargeable lamps during the day. Each jar has a drawing from a different community in the world, and together a single work of art is created, illuminated by the power of the sun alone. Recruiting the solar power of the sun in magical and poetic action in a minimalist and powerful performance. “The House of Light” to be displayed at the Dormizion Abbey: The Vienna Artists’ Collective covered the front of the monastery with light paintings that shed art, architecture, dreams and imagination on the structure. “Wandering in Space” at Zion Gate: The work of Or Jool works from Hopali, which created a space of light in the urban space and invites you to visit it. A mysterious and interesting figure surrounds itself with circular movements of a magic wand that creates textures and drawings in space that cause magic in space. “Electric Spores” at Ma’ale HaShalom: The work of light artist Avram Santa Cruz “Liquid PXL” from the United States, which created light sculptures that turn into fireworks at nightfall, integrating the Jerusalem landscape and the residents’ houses of the nearby Silwan neighborhood. “Reflections on Peace”: The work of light artist Georg Eich of Austria, strong flashes of light projected over historical caves and rock formations, causing them to appear and disappear with time. The flashes of light move according to the speed of the visitors, scouring, revealing, illuminating, hiding and reappearing. “Scribbling” in the Rise of Peace: The work of Light Artist Angus Moir of New Zealand, which created a surprising and constantly changing display of digital fluorescent tubes with visitors walking alongside. The color changes of the water pipes allow visitors to experience the performance by examining it from different angles along the route. An abstract reflection of the multicultural world and the diversity in which we live. “The Light of Jerusalem” on the cover of the tanners: Liron Lavi-Turkenitz’s work and the staff of the Aurora Festival on the cover of the tanners using a special “arborean” font, designed by Liron, which combines two languages in a way that enables Hebrew and Arabic speakers to read the same word. “Trumpet Flowers” Up the Peace: The Work of Amigo & Amigo and Studio Otis from Australia. 27 illuminated flowers inspired by an ancient gramophone, create an interactive field dominated by the audience, find the interactive keys of the trumpets to make the flowers suitable for each key sound and change their light patterns. “Keys of Light”: The work of the Dutch light artist MR.Beam, which will be exhibited at the Davidson Center. An interactive display that allows the general public to play the piano when each sound becomes a light. Each keyboard key is connected to the light in the urban environment of the lantern and thus can be played and created in parallel, a colorful symphony of lights.
The Red Route
The Red Route through the Jaffa Gate to the traders’ market, the Morristan Fountain and the Christian Quarter
“Relax and Release” An improvisation by the designer Alexander Heitzky the Composer of the Light will be at the inner Jaffa Gate: the work of Maria Widow and Nestor Rubin and the UK’s Kimatika Studio. The work translates the movements of the people into an abstract light that makes them bear the task. Motion detectors that are directed at the visitors, transfer the data to the computer and through the projectors, a magical interpretation of the movement recorded in the detectors is presented. The enlightened tunnel on Morristan Street: The work of the Najib brothers from Israel, the alleys and tunnels of the market area are instantly transformed into a light tunnel that provides a new interpretation of the curves and vaults of ancient architecture. The old arches receive a temporary arch structure of spectacular LED animations. “Oasis of Light” in Morristan Square: The Morristan Fountain turns into a oasis of light. A performance by Ein Gedi high school students led by designers: Boaz Menashri, Yochai Alush, and Or Ben, with the support of the Ein Gal factory. Dozens of canes and desert flowers surround the ancient fountain and turn it into a source of water from an entirely different place. “To choose Baruch” on St. Francis Street: the work of light artist Ralph Westerhof from the Netherlands. Industrial holograms may seem large and powerful but in reality they are 99 percent air. To understand them, we must not rely on the usual way we look at the world but be active, explore, draw conclusions and be partners in creation, take the obvious parts and complete them in our minds into the ever-changing landscape. “Call for a wish” on Kazu Nova Street: The work of the Oratorian artist from France. Interactive video display of an imaginary and intriguing world of wish catcher. Visitors will be able to access the wish catcher and whisper a wish that will then become real by means of light that appears and develops within the projection at the front of the building. “Infectura” on New Gate Street: The work of light artist Alexander Chaitzky Migran Andriesian from Israel, who created a temporary inflatable structure that goes beyond the usual time definitions and interpretations of architecture. The swelling structure that grew overnight added new tissue of light to the old building and merges into it past, present and future.
The Green Route
The Green Route encircles the city walls from Kikar Tzahal to the Damascus Gate and Zedekiah’s Cave.
“Absorbed by light” in the new gate square: the work of Gali May Lukas from Britain. A critical work of three figures seated next to each other on a bench with smart phones: their heads bent, their fingers sliding and clicking, their faces dancing in the light of the screens. Their bodies are present but their minds are absent. The light from the phones is the only light in the work and hints at our worship of the new god, the cell phones. “White Amulets” on Paratroopers Street: The work of light artist Niv Shafran. A kinetic display featuring a shark swims in the air, moving in delicate movements and changing its colors according to the accompanying music. The performance encourages viewers to surround the shark, focus on it and lose focus, and experience its three-dimensional shape from a different angle while observing the swimming movement and the movement of visitors around it. “Streetlight” on Tzanchanim Street: The work of light artists Raya and Ariel Frumkin. An enchanting street lamp leads the visitors following events from the history of Jerusalem. Using green screen technology. “The Soccer Players” on Tzanchanim Street: The work of light artist Rami Baron of France. A performance that shows a scene in a football game using LED lights. “Outside the Lines” on Tzanchanim Street: The work of Mad Rhizome production. A modular structure consisting of 450 meters of LEDs that create abstract geometrical shapes, the light animations created by the choreography of light react and expand, flow in all directions, creating and dismantling the space around them. “ Sha’arei Ha-Or “(The Gates of Light) The Gate of Damascus: The Work of Lichtaft of Austria. A journey of light and shapes on the Damascus Gate. Mystical and mythological elements are intertwined in patterns and forms and create a surrealistic environment. “Garden of the Octopus” in Zedekiah’s Cave: The work of RaumZeitPiraten from Germany. Miniature machines and optical models of laboratory equipment, electrical appliances and electrical equipment that travel at different speeds and create a mesmerizing story of light and shade in Zedekiah’s cave. A poetic hybrid between Plato’s cave parable and autonomic audiovisual creatures in a post-apocalyptic era.
The Octopus in Zedkiyahu’s Cave Credit: Light Festival
Translated from Haaretz