The Amsterdam Light Festival has been wowing spectators on both land and water since 2012. The annual event features illuminated displays designed by artists from all around the world.
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This current festival, which kicked off on November 28, includes a ‘Water Colors’ route best enjoyed while on board a canal boat. It will continue through January 17. Prior editions have featured everything from interactive wishing wells to captivating projects created by students from TU Delft. There’s also an ‘Illuminade’ walking route for those who prefer to keep their feet on solid ground. Admission for the latter is free and it’s scheduled to wrap up on January 3. You can also enjoy guided tours along with additional activities and events at museums, theatres, restaurants, shops and other locations all around Amsterdam.
Twenty displays can be found along the ‘Illuminade’ route and here’s a quick look at three of the more innovative among them:
Winged Migration
This interactive video installation is located in the Wertheimpark. It’s a collaborative work crafted by Dutch theatre designer Judith Hofland and local filmmaker Tessel Schmidt. Visitors can step inside a wooden observation booth located across from a large tree overlooking a larger-than-life birdhouse. Projections of birds float up and down the tree’s limbs and explode into bursts of colour at random intervals. Each visitor that steps inside the booth causes an additional one to bounce out of the birdhouse and take flight.
Canal House
Located along the Hortusplantsoen at the Reinwardt Academy, this elaborate display was designed by Dutch artist Irma de Vries. It’s been described as a ‘living painting’ and includes representations of various historical events across its 18-metre tall light projection. “In my work I examine Europe’s identity by coupling elements and events from history to current or future events,” De Vries said in a recent press release. “Not only does our individual identity become visible that way, but I hope it will also enable us to visualise our cultural identity.”
Birds Fly Around With You
Japanese light artist Masamichi Shimada created this interactive display that can be found near the Hoftuin, a restaurant on the Nieuwe Herengracht. It was inspired by zoetropes, the spinning devices that simulated motion in the era leading up to more modern filmmaking in the late 19th century. Visitors who step into Shimada’s display can activate an animated circle of glowing birds in mid-flight.
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