Thirteen light arworks will transform Sofia into an open-air gallery in the evenings from 6 to 9 May 2022. The first edition of LUNAR Festival of Lights will present the art of talented artists from Australia, Bulgaria, Germany, India, France and Sweden. The program of the event includes different types of artworks that will reveal to the Bulgarian audience the diversity and power of this type of art. All artworks can be seen between 8:30 p.m. and midnight on each of the four evenings.
Two video and four static projections on buildings, as well as six light installations and an interactive studio for painting with light, will await visitors to the event. At the beginning of the unique route is the neoclassical facade of “Kvadrat 500”, on which the 3D mapping show, named “Imagine” will be projected. It will tell the audience about the voices that live in each of us and predetermine our life decisions, and it will mark Europe Day.
Only meters from the square “St. Alexander Nevsky ”, the path of the audience will reach the National Library” St. St. Cyril and Methodius”. The twelve columns of the facade will reveal a world in which some of the most beautiful animal species meet to send an important message about the diversity of the planet through the 3D mapping “Wildlife Depends on Our Habits”.
Artists from four countries will turn the facade of the Hyatt Regency Sofia into a portal to different cultures, united under the theme “divARTsity”. Among them will be the Australian artist Nick Azidis, the Bulgarian MP-STUDIO, the Indian Knownsense Studios and the legendary Frenchman Thierry Noir – the first graffiti artist to paint on the Berlin Wall in the 80s of the last century.
Heading to the Royal Garden, visitors will pass through the house built in 1882 at №17 Moskovska Street. There, a series of five works created by the Bulgarian graffiti artist JahOne will focus on the importance of being useful to others, under the theme “To Give Light”.
The park space behind the National Gallery will “come to life” thanks to two light installations. Seven huge, changing their appearance flowers will give a new, fantastic look to the garden. The CyberFlo installation carries the message of positive change.
Going to “Knyaz Alexander I” Square, the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the SubAtom installation, in which constantly moving particles transform energy and discover new worlds.
The night walk around the city will pass through the City Garden, where on the magnificent facade of the National Theater “Ivan Vazov” for the first time in one place will gather six Bulgarian artists and studios working in the area of light art. Together, Elektrick.me, MP-STUDIO, Petko Tanchev, Poliforma, Rosalina Burkova and Studio Phormatik will reveal the full potential of lighting works that have the power to change the night urban environment.
The symbol of the festival – the floating installation “Moon Night” will be seen in the fountain in front of the theater, and the senses of the audience will be provoked by the trees illuminated by multicolored lights, part of the installation “Magic Forest”.
In addition to the various artworks that will be hosted in the City Garden, visitors will be challenged to unleash their imagination by joining the Atelier “Light Painting”. The presenters of the studio will paint with light in the space the whims of the participants, and the spectators will receive their unique works on their mobile phones. The studio will be held on May 6 and 7, between 8:30 – 11:00 p.m.
The three-kilometer route of LUNAR will take the audience to Bulgaria Square. There you will be able to see the remarkable sculptures “Infinitum” by Swedish artist Philip Jakobsson, created from wood and light and symbolizing eternity and completeness.
The largest facade, part of the event, that of the National Palace of Culture, can be seen through the symbol of love – the installation “Glowing Heart”. There the artworks of the three winners, selected after participating in a competition and transforming the themes “eMotions”, “eXplore” and “eFuture” will shine. Artists can apply with their works until April 25.
The light artworks, part of the first edition of LUNAR, are presented by: the European Parliament and the Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria (Imagine), Mastercard and DSK Bank (Wildlife Depends on Our Habits), Hyatt Regency Sofia (divARTsity), Astellas (To Give Light), bTV Media Group (Cyberflo), Electrohold (SubAtom), Sofia Municipality (We Shine Together), Joker Media Rental (Magic Forest), ALOS Center (Atelier “Painting with Light”), Ritual Gatherings festival (Infinitum), eMAG (Glowing Heart and Experience).
Organizer and main artistic team behind the project is the Bulgarian visual effects studio MP-STUDIO, in partnership with one of the most famous light festivals in the world Festival of Lights International Productions GmbH. The event will be held with the support of the European Parliament in Bulgaria and the Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria and under the patronage of the Chairman of the Sofia Municipal Council Georgi Georgiev and will be free of charge to all residents and guests.
bTV Media Group is the general media partner of the event and through its reports and live broadcasts will make viewers from all over the country involved to the breathtaking footage of the festival and interesting information about it.
The first edition of LUNAR will be organized with the support of Sofia Municipality and under the patronage of the Chairman of the Sofia Municipal Council Georgi Georgiev. What can [...]
