November 29, 2018–January 20, 2019

Submission deadline: January 17, 2018, 4pm CET

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?

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 the form on amsterdamlightfestival.com/en/cfc to request the Artist Briefing. 
Any questions can be sent to [email protected] 

Deadline 

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