The Festival of Lights will showcase Prague's architecture in an unusual form

Prague - The first light festival in Prague, titled Signal, will offer outdoor light installations, projections on historical buildings, and night boating along the Vltava River from October 17 to 20. The organizers have invited significant representatives of the audiovisual scene from abroad as well as well-known local artists. The installations will feature contributors such as Vladimir 518, Krištof Kintera, Milan Cais, Jakub Nepraš, and even Rony Plesl or František Skála.
    Among the most visible locations will likely be the Petřín lookout tower, which will become a lighthouse for four festival days under the interpretation of Krištof Kintera; another iconic building of Prague, the Dancing House, will also be illuminated, festival director Martin Pošta told reporters today. Prague first witnessed a more elaborate video mapping, i.e., projections in open space on various objects, two years ago during the celebrations of the 600th anniversary of the Old Town Astronomical Clock. The projection is often accompanied by specially prepared and selected music or other sounds.
    According to Pošta, the festival will present Prague as a place where modern technologies merge the historical genius loci with contemporary art. He points out that the play of light and shadows, with its symbolism, has accompanied art from Greek tragedies through Renaissance style to experimental film. "Thanks to technical development, we encounter the use of light in such a way that from one technologically advanced source, artists can tear down and build imaginary architectural structures or remodel them," says Pošta.
    In October, the top of the world in architectural video mapping projects and light installations will visit Prague: from Belgium and France, the AntiVJ visual label and 1024architecture will come, from Spain Telenoika, and Sila sveta from Russia. They will work with the facades of the Hybernia Theatre, the Archbishop’s Palace, and Michna Palace, and 1024architecture, known throughout Europe for its light Christmas tree in Brussels, will prepare a light installation at the Old Town Square.
    Musician, visual artist, and supporter of second-half 20th-century architecture Vladimir 518, along with David Vrbík, was inspired by the work of painter Zdeněk Sýkora. At the Kampa Museum, they will prepare an installation that will interpret his black-and-white structures. "In my opinion, the festival is largely about architecture, because without it there would be nothing to illuminate. All video mapping is formulated by the shape of architecture. I will be going to look at buildings in a new guise," he said today.