Barcelona lights up at Llum BCN 2023

Llum BCN is one of the most expected cultural events of art and light in Barcelona, held every year in February. This festival transforms the city into an urban canvas, where buildings and monuments are illuminated with light installations and audiovisual projections.  

For three nights, thousands of people take to the streets to enjoy the unique spectacle that combines art, technology and architecture. La Salle-URL, is one of the 15 art and design schools participating in the event with the installation Re-connecting.   

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The festival of light and art that illuminates Barcelona  

Every year Llum BCN transforms the city into a space for creativity and artistic expression. In its 2023 edition, it will feature an extensive program and route of light installations, interactive projections, live shows and activities for everyone.  

Its epicenter was located at the Museu del Disseny and from there it expanded to various spaces and areas of the neighborhood.  

In addition to the 15 schools that participated in the creation of the installations, artists, designers, architects and creatives from all over the world presented their proposals in the different emblematic spaces of the city.   

Betting on change  

The theme of the festival revolved around the climate crisis. Its relationship with energy, efficiency and the development of sustainable materials, among others, were the main protagonists of the Catalan night.   

To represent the event and the theme, a poster designed by illustrator Borja Acosta de Vizcaíno was chosen, who dedicated it to the 1929 Universal Exposition in Barcelona seeking "a look back, to the tradition and connection with this event of art and public spectacle that took place in the last century".   

Liberty and Light, We Harvest Mind and Call Out, the favorites of the 2023 edition.  

Llum BCN 2023 featured internationally renowned artists, and around thirty installations opted to include their works in the light route through the streets of Barcelona.  

Maria Güell, delegate of the festival, recognized the most outstanding works, and remarked the main intention of Llum BCN -to create a laboratory with the city-. Among others, Liberty and Light stood out; a piece designed by Chila Kumari (La Traginera-Comunalitat de Ciutat Vella) which, with neons, drawings and words covered the facade of the courtyard of the Can Framis museum.   

We harvest Mind was another favorite. Designed and executed by Dutchman Thijs Biersteker, this interactive sculpture powered by wind energy was intended to explore the new methods discovered by renewable energies.   

Abel Korinsky and Orhan 'aib' Kavrakoglu presented the installation Call Out at the Disseny Hub in Barcelona. Their intention? To draw the trail of satellites crossing the sky over the city, reflecting on the impact of human beings in space. 

Off Llum BCN- emerging artists  

During February 3-5, Off Llum BCN 2023 also took place.  

A unique cultural experience that invites visitors to discover the city in a different way and enjoy the creativity and innovation of national and international artists in an urban environment.  

The festival also includes activities for all ages, such as workshops, talks and guided tours. Artists and designers use light as a medium to create new perceptions of urban spaces and to explore the creative possibilities of technology.  

Re Connecting - La Salle-URL illuminates Llum BCN 

It is common to find installations designed and elaborated by students of La Salle-URL, a frequent participant in Llum BCN. Last year (2022) the work Spiral, which claimed the milestones in the life of a person and the interaction of lights, was the first one to illuminate the Llum BCN.   

On this occasion, the installation Entre dos tiempos: porque el tiempo avanza, pero no olvida (Between two times: because time moves forward, but does not forget), was installed in the streets of Barcelona. A work created by Martina Blázquez and Diego Lahoz, students of the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de La Salle Campus Barcelona and with which they made reference to the duality of light in time: past and present.   

Re Connecting represents the importance and value of nature in urban centers. Natural and organic curves were used to set the mood of the installation, offering a new perspective to linear urbanization.  The work was presented at the Museu d'Història de Barcelona (MUHBA) and the participants were students from different degrees: Irina Aynes and Marta Vilaseca (Multimedia Engineering degree); Alistair Aguinaliu and Elisabet Romo (Digital Arts degree); Hogne Maerde, Shelly Myers, Berkan Cetinbag and Gulce Keskinoglu (Architecture degree). 

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