Amsterdam Light Festival - Call for Concepts 2018-2019

Amsterdam Light Festival is an annual festival in the Netherlands that presents high-quality and innovative light art in Amsterdam’s vibrant city centre. The seventh edition of the festival will take place from November 29, 2018 till January 20, 2019. Once again, Amsterdam’s world-renowned canals, historic sites and various waterfronts will offer visitors a unique way to experience light artworks. Artistic director Lennart Booij: “Amsterdam Light Festival brings people from different backgrounds together in the dark winter times. We aim to involve, inspire and enlighten visitors, creators and partners with light art”.

For this reason, the festival invites creators from around the world—from artists to designers, engineers to architects, and professionals to students—to submit a concept for a light artwork. An international jury, together with the festival’s curatorial team, will review the concepts and select approximately 35 artists to create an artwork.

Theme  For its 2018–19 edition, Amsterdam Light Festival is looking for creative interpretations of the theme The Medium is the Message. A modern day evaluation of this famous one-liner raises questions about the powerful influence of (new) media. And when it comes to light as a medium, several specific, interesting issues come into play. For instance, what kinds of messages does the medium light transmit nowadays? In an era of fake news and alternative facts, can light maintain its objectivity? How does it communicate in a way that no other medium can? How does light shape or transform (digital) space?

Exhibitions  Amsterdam Light Festival presents two exhibitions in Amsterdam’s city centre. For the Water Exhibition, we are looking for monumental artworks positioned on, above or in the water that connect with the city, its inhabitants, and its visitors. For the Land Exhibition, we would like to see artworks that you can experience from up close, walk through, connect with and react to.

Submission  Please fill out this form to request the full Artist Briefing and submit your proposal through our online portal. We charge 35 EUR (including Dutch VAT) for each individual submission. The fee is to be paid via PayPal and is non-refundable. If you have any questions, check our FAQ section on our website or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Deadline  The deadline for submitting your proposal is January 17, 2018 (4pm CET). Late entries will not be accepted.