Lumen Lite celebrates light, art, technology, and community

The City of Waterloo is pleased to invite the community to celebrate light, art, and technology two metres apart with a scaled back version of the annual festival, Lumen. Lumen Lite is the City’s fourth edition of the annual festival of light, art, and tech and is set to take place in various locations in Uptown Waterloo on September 25, 2021. Lumen Lite is an adapted version of the original event with physical distancing protocols in place. The event will take place from 6 to 11 p.m.

Traditionally hosting 30+ visual, interactive, new media, and performance-based installations, the event was adapted in 2020 and again in 2021 to accommodate for the safety procedures of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event includes 20 installations, including a live drone show that will take place above Waterloo Park at 9 p.m. with visuals by artist Steph Yates. All of the Lumen Lite art installations will be hosted in outdoor locations.  Physical distancing measures will be in place and masks are required for participation. Installations will still be interactive, but in new, contact-less ways.

“Magic happens when art and digital technology intersect and we’re excited to be able to once again share this experience,” says Justin McFadden, executive director, economic development at the City of Waterloo.  “Lumen Lite not only showcases the work of our talented artists and lets us celebrate as a community in a safe way, but also creates tangible economic benefits to those sectors hardest hit by the pandemic.”

Notable installations by artists:

• Become the subject of a video exploration into movement and sound. Interact with responsive visuals and listen for the way your movements change the installation in Dan Freder’s Glitchcraft.
• Chromatic Structures by Dark Rooms (Jackie Levitt & Jonah Kamphorst) brings together form, light and sound to create a vivid and immersive, open-air experience.  Featuring live projection mapping on three-dimensional structures and original electronic music, the front courtyard of the Clay & Glass Gallery will transform into an oasis of glittering, crystalline shapes and unearthly sounds.  
• ADAPTIV module by Canadian multi-disciplinary artist MEDIAH. This cinematic artwork performed in real-time and features animated artwork from an upcoming immersive projection-mapping project to be premiered in 2022. The audio-visual exhibit will stimulate viewers and take them on a multi-sensory journey through dimensional worlds built from MEDIAH’s dynamic artwork.

Other family-friendly activities include a pop-up dance party and, of course, the drone light show at 9 p.m.

Get thinking about our community’s public spaces, and how they transform our shared experiences. Enjoy this celebration of light, art and technology, and come explore the city in a new light!

Learn more about Lumen Lite and explore the event map on the new website http://www.lumenfestival.ca.

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 culture 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.

As this year’s festival will not include any indoor venues, inclement weather or any changes in Provincial guidelines may result in the cancellation of the event.

Media contact:

Shelly Reed
Communications consultant
shelly.reed@waterloo.ca

Event contact:

Sonya Poweska
Culture program specialist – arts and culture, economic development
519-747-8769
sonya.poweska@waterloo.ca