Luminale 08, the biennial light and culture event with around 200 lighting projects parallel to Light+Building
International lighting festival transfers Frankfurt and the Rhine- Main region into fascinating worlds of light
The fourth edition of Luminale, the biennial light and culture event, will be held parallel to Light+Building in Frankfurt am Main from 6 to 11 April 2008 and, with around 200 lighting projects, transform Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main region into fascinating worlds of light in the evening, after the international trade fair for architecture and technology has closed its doors. The programme includes not only building illuminations, exhibitions and art installations but also vernissages, parties and guided tours. This year's Luminale will focus on two important trends: 'Interactive architecture' and 'urban screening'. Additionally, Luminale will also take account of the discussion about global warming and energy efficiency in the form of lectures, exhibitions and other activities, as will Light+Building – International Trade Fair for Architecture and Technology. At the almost fully booked-up Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre, over 2,100 exhibitors from the lighting, electrical engineering and house and building automation sectors will present a wide range of energy efficient products, innovations and design trends.
"For six days, Light+Building and Luminale in Frankfurt will offer a high-powered programme revolving around lighting design, high-end architecture and the use of light in a cultural context", explains Dr. Michael Peters, Member of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt. "Our exhibitors also take part in Luminale and their projects make a significant contribution to the development of lighting culture."
Frankfurt's first media façade
In Frankfurt, visitors, exhibitors and commuters will be welcomed at the Main Railway Station by Luminale scenarios. Trains coming into the station will be accompanied by 'Blue Motion Light Impulses' by the Kunstlicht company. Casa Magica will take the public's breath away with a project at the building site of the European Central Bank, the former wholesale-market hall, as will Michael Batz (with the support of PHILIPS) with his illumination at the Börsenplatz (Stock Exchange Square).
The Luminale highlights for 2008 include numerous banks, such as Helaba and DZ-Bank. Today, the James Turrel installation in the towers of the Dresdner Bank is regarded as Frankfurt's lighting landmark. The Sparda Bank in the 'Europaviertel' district will also be an eyecatcher. Stefan Hofmann, the designer of the much-acclaimed Uniqa Tower in Vienna, will switch on the first media façade in Frankfurt with LichtKunstLicht.
LED raster displays and the uses to which they can be put is one of the future-oriented topics at both Light+Building and Luminale. Thus, Spectral will be illuminating the inside of Frankfurt Cathedral with LED applications and redefining rooms and atmospheres. A contrast to this will be the River Main embankment, one of the classic Luminale sites. For example, the City of Frankfurt will switch on illuminations of the 'Deutschherrn' Bridge in the East of Frankfurt during Luminale and thereby help upgrade the area around the future offices of the European Central Bank. Also in the area will be an installation by Detlef Hartung and Georg Trenz (supported by SITECO) at the 'Literaturhaus'.
Olafur Eliasson, one of the world's most influential light artists, will present the latest variation of his lighting installation in the 'Portikus' art gallery. The project (supported by SITECO) began with Luminale 2006 and will be concluded in 2008. The 'Nizza am Main', Frankfurt's river-side Mediterranean garden, will be illuminated by manufacturers RZB while the Three Kings Church on the opposite side of the River Main will be lit up by Torsten Braun of 'Die Lichtplaner' lighting planners in cooperation with iGuzzini. Also on the river, members of the public will be able to see the Tea House of Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, which will be illuminated by LEDs, as well as the Foscarini scenario in the Richard Meier Building of the Museum for Applied Art. In this connection, NODE 08, a forum for digital arts with architectural projections on various buildings in Frankfurt, will be making its debut.
Light is a medium that appeals to people need for emotions, feelings and attention in difficult times. All this and much more is the subject of the 'Pecha Kucha Luminale Night' at the German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt. Also appealing to the senses will be a 'Taste of Darkness', an extraordinary culinary journey at the Frankfurt Dialogue Museum on 9 April. Visitors will be served a multi-course surprise menu cooked by top chef Volker Drkosch in a blacked-out room so they can discover how greatly their perception of taste is dependent on light.
Luminale greatly expanded since the première in 2002
"Since making its debut in 2002, Luminale has been distinguished not only by growing popularity but also by a great increase in the area covered", says Helmut M. Bien, curator of the spectacular light and culture event. "This year's Luminale will also expand – to Aschaffenburg in the east and to Loreley in the north." Darmstadt will take part with the 'Mathildenhöhe' cultural centre, Mainz with the 'Zitadelle' and Wiesbaden with the 'Lightsite' art project in the 'Kurpark'. Between Rüdesheim and Loreley, the romantic at heart will find a light scenario of the their dreams in the Upper-Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Andrea Nusser and iGuzzini will illuminate the cableway up to the Germania monument and the Loreley cliffs at St. Goarshausen thus creating a breathtaking land-art project during Luminale.
Luminale was launched by Messe Frankfurt in 2002. Since then, it has developed into an event that attracts worldwide attention and the number of participants from the industry, universities, politics and society has doubled with each edition. Around 100,000 people see the various projects every evening during Luminale. This year, Messe Frankfurt is once again supporting the event by, for instance, funding the project office, the advertising and the shuttle buses.
Luminale and Light+Building have a sustained impact
Luminale and Light+Building have more than just a momentary impact. Their influence on lighting in Frankfurt and the surrounding area has been sustained, e.g., through the continuation of lighting projects, such as the power station at Frankfurt's West Port. iGuzzini illuminated the power station during Luminale 2006 and the installation was taken over by the Mainova power company as a permanent feature.
Additionally, Luminale has made people more aware of the importance of lighting while Light+Building has had a particularly lasting impact as a unique information forum for the specialist world. Light+Building and Luminale are two events that complement each other perfectly: the world's leading trade fair for the sector attracts trade visitors to Frankfurt during the day while the spectacular Luminale lighting event appeals to the general public in the evening. You will find further information about Luminale on the internet at www.light-building.messefrankfurt.com, in the Luminale Blog at www.luminapolis.com or direct from the curator of Luminale, Helmut M. Bien at luminale@westermann-kommunikation.de, telephone +49 6132 780087. Additionally, information about the programme will be available from all Luminale participants, in museums, citizen and tourist information offices throughout the region and the information counters of Messe Frankfurt from 15 March.
