The Zsolnay Festival of Light opens hypnotic light dimensions

Zsolnay Festival of Light.

A cheeky play with the senses, dazzling light installations and alternative light dimensions – the Zsolnay Light Festival in Pécs will once again offer irresistible programmes between 4-7 July! Artificial intelligence will be on display, there will be an enchanted forest of light and you can even enter a dystopian sci-fi world! The brush is still the light and the canvas is the entire city centre, with around 30 venues.

Zsolnay Festival of Light 2024

There are more and more events of this kind in many parts of the country, but the Zsolnay Festival of Light, launched in 2016, remains a unique attempt to transform a whole city centre space through light.

Now in its 8th edition, the Zsolnay Festival of Light is already ranked among the top European light festivals by the international lighting industry, with an expected audience of over 100,000 people.

“Those who have never experienced anything like it cannot imagine how seemingly inconceivable visual experiences can be brought to life with the help of light,” says Márk Hummel, Managing Director of Zsolnay Heritage Management Ltd.

The main attraction of the festival, the Zsolnay Light Art Video Mapping Competition, will feature five three-dimensional animations woven from light, accompanied by sound, composed specifically for the façade of the Cathedral. The theme of this year’s competition is the magic cube. In 2024, the well-known spatial logic game Rubik’s Cube, designed by the world-famous Ernő Rubik, will be 50 years old and has built a worldwide community.

Zsolnay Festival of Light

Every year, the Way of Light offers an exceptional experience, and this year will be no exception. One by one, the works of the light circle that will criss-cross the city centre of Pécs will twist visitors’ minds. The 19 stops will touch iconic buildings in the city centre, but the ever-growing interest has made it necessary to cover an even larger area. Thus, the light universe stretches beyond the Kodály Centre Concert Hall, which debuted to great acclaim last year, all the way to the Zsolnay Quarter. A spectacular light installation will be on display, while the attractions of the Zsolnay Quarter and several of its exhibitions, including Street Up in the m21 Gallery, will be open to the public at night.

The artists of the Way of Light will reflect on today’s top themes. Artificial intelligence allows us to interactively transform the interior of an exhibition space, while another work uses augmented reality to explore the role of fire in our civilisation as an ancient element. We can admire the choreographed movements of hundreds of red-hot giant laser beams in the concert hall of the Kodály Centre, the story of the origin of life is transformed into a virtual fantasy world on a 100 square metre LED wall in the Árkád Pécs Shopping Centre, and Balokány Liget is transformed into an enchanted forest of light.

Zsolnay Festival of Light, Aftermovie

We can travel without moving in a street where the entire pavement surface moves under our feet, and an audiovisual projection uses the aesthetics of science fiction to critique our general optimism about the development of technology.

The festival not only enriches the city centre of Pécs with light works, but also with colourful street theatre and new circus performances during the day. In the public squares of the city centre, you can strengthen your diaphragm or admire the skills of jugglers and artists from Argentina, Australia, Catalonia, Israel, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The Way of Light Extra

The festival’s programmes and attractions on the Way of Light in public spaces are free of charge, while those in enclosed spaces are accessible with the purchase of a wristband – these are the Way of Light Extra venues. Discounted early bird tickets are available until 30 June at the link below, details HERE. This article in Hungarian: Hipnotikus fénydimenziókat nyit a Zsolnay Fényfesztivál