Lumen
A festival where light, art, and tech meet happening on Saturday, September 20, 2025 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. in uptown Waterloo. Find more information on the Lumen website, launching early September 2025.
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About Lumen
Lumen is an annual, free, all-ages festival that is open to the public and run by the City of Waterloo’s Arts and Creative Industries team (Create Waterloo). The event features the work of artists as they explore the interplay of light, art, and technology in installations located throughout uptown Waterloo.
Established in 2018, Lumen takes place every September at various indoor and outdoor installation locations, bringing together tech industry leaders like the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), the Perimeter Institute and Shopify, with locally and internationally renowned multi-disciplinary artists.
The event hosts 30+ visual, interactive, new media, and performance-based installations. Residents and community members are invited to enjoy this free festival in uptown Waterloo and get thinking about our community’s public spaces and how they transform our shared experiences.
In addition to a lineup of high-caliber artists, Lumen has also featured collaborations and partnerships between the City of Waterloo and cultural organizations such as Button Factory Arts, Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo Public Library, Pat the Dog Theatre Creation, CAFKA, THEMUSEUM, Mary Allen Studio Tour, Centre for International Governance Innovation, Kazoo!Fest, City of Waterloo Museum, University of Waterloo - Department of Fine Arts, Conestoga College, Institute for Quantum Computing, LAUNCH Waterloo, Canada Learning Code, Austrian Embassy.
2025 Festival
Lumen returns to uptown Waterloo on September 20, 2025 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. with over 30 installations set up across Waterloo from the Waterloo Public Square to Waterloo Park.
More information to be announced on the Lumen website.