The programme for Lumo Light Festival 2023 has been published. This year the festival draws people to light art experiences in Oulu on 17–19 November. The installations will be on display daily between 4 – 10 p.m. The event brings about 20 light art installations around Oulu city centre and the Hupisaaret Park, along with other programme content elsewhere in Oulu. Lumo livens up the dark autumn with this year’s festival theme of mental well-being. Lumo Light Festival Oulu is arranged by the city of Oulu.
”November is the darkest time of the year, and the ultimate purpose of Lumo is to bring light to the darkening evenings. The festival is free of charge and open for all, so everyone can enjoy the event which also serves as a boost of positive energy for the city centre,” says Jarkko Halunen, the Programme Director of Lumo.
The programme includes two major facade projections. The tower of Oulu Cathedral features The View, a video mapping by Helsinki-based video artist Janne Ahola. The work follows the story of The Traveller, a light art character featured at Lumo in 2021, as they shed the last remains of their physical shape on the way to the unknown. At Kirkkokatu 9, the LähiTapiola office building serves as the canvas for Hungarian collective Lightspray Visual’s analogue projection Natural Balance. The artists’ vision is to take the viewers into nature, emphasising the importance of caring for our environment.
As before, Lumo highlights also local talent. Keko is an installation co-created by a music pedagogue, a dance teacher, and students of communication from Oulu University of Applied Sciences. The installation brings a layered tapestry of movement, sound, and light into the Hupisaaret greenhouse. What is more, every visitor has the chance to leave their mark in the shape of the work. The Abyss by Cultish collective studies the borders of how mental health and mental illness are experienced. This audiovisual installation can be found behind Oulu Museum of Art.
The side events for Lumo are organised by several volunteer teams, schools, and associations around Oulu. Besides the city centre, these events take place in Haukipudas, Heikinharju, Tuira, Intiö, Höyhtyä, and Nuottasaari, among other districts.
Two light installations will remain on display for a longer time after the festival. Funded by Oulun liikekeskus ry and produced by Gala Stage from Estonia, light flower installation Chiaroscuro will stay in the Rotuaari Square until 27 November. School kids from Oulu have created a communal piece called Water, My Beloved for Cultural Centre Valve where it will live on until Epiphany in early 2024.
Lumo Menu brings together a selection of flavours from restaurants in Oulu during the event. As many as 15 restaurants in the city centre are participating in the menu this year.
The Lumo programme in its entirety can be found at the Programme website.