Asia’s first sustainable light art festival illuminates Marina Bay

Aug. 30, 2010
Date Announced: 30 Aug 2010 Singapore – Marina Bay will play host to i Light Marina Bay, Asia’s first sustainable light art festival, from 15 October to 7 November 2010. i Light Marina Bay aims to celebrate the nightscape with the use of energy-efficient lighting and to create awareness for energy-saving lighting technology for the urban environment. The Festival features a Light Walk comprising over 20 dynamic light art installations and sculptures as well as interactive and performance-based art displays from talented local and international design luminaries. The artworks will be installed at various locations around Marina Bay including the newly opened waterfront promenade. The event is free to the public. The Festival is presented by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and organised by Smart Light Singapore. It is part of Marina Bay Invitations 2010, a series of events planned to promote Marina Bay as a vibrant venue and a destination for a brand new live-work-play experience. URA’s involvement in the Festival underscores its commitment to bring the best of leisure and cultural experiences to Marina Bay.i Light Marina Bay is conceived as a festival that will create a dynamic visual night environment through the use of energy-efficient lighting for the community to enjoy. The ‘i’ in the name alludes to the festival’s innovative content, the intelligent use of lighting as well as its international lineup of creative talent. It is also an invitation to everyone to get involved in this free outdoor celebration of creativity in a new community space. “Besides creating a distinctive skyline and attractive public spaces around Marina Bay, URA is working with partners to offer a rich array of activities and events to enrich visitors’ experience,” said Mr Ng Lang, Chief Executive Officer of URA. “i Light Marina Bay is one such event. We hope that the show can give visitors an immersive experience of creative art works in a night setting in Marina Bay, and to encourage the community to come and discover and enjoy the Bay and many of the wonderful attractions around it. Everyone is invited to be part of this family-friendly event,” he added. i Light Marina Bay is developed in partnership with URA by a creative team helmed by Ms Mary-Anne Kyriakou, the Festival Director, together with Singaporean curators Ms Kelley Cheng and Mr Randy Chan. The first major light art event in Asia, the Festival is set to become the regional platform for the exchange of ideas and technology, artistic expression and public engagement through beautiful light art works with intelligent light usage. To this end, a key component of the Festival is the participation of both local and international light artists and designers who will be creating new, site-specific works addressing the theme of people, place and time. Among the international artists are Francesco Mariotti (Switzerland), Ingo Bracke (Germany), Warren Langley (Australia), OCUBO (Portugal), Mark Hammer & Andre Kecskes (Australia), Kurt Laurenz Theinert & Axel Hanfreich (Germany), TILT (France), Jeppe Aagaard Andersen (Demark), Sascha Crocker & Andrew Daly (Australia), Chris Bosse (Germany) and Mary-Anne Kyriakou & Joe Snell (Australia). More than 10 installations by local and regional artists have been selected from the artistic submissions received as a result of a call for entries that took place earlier. These include installations by Michael Lee (Singapore) & Cornelia Erdmann (Hong Kong), Angela Chong (Singapore), Aamer Taher & Pascal Petitjean (Singapore), the lighting design team from Meinhardt Light Studio (Singapore), Pitupong Chaowakul (Thailand), Edwin Cheong (Singapore), Martin Klaasen, Shane Richardson & Pascal Petitjean (Australia/Singapore), Kenny Eng, Allan Lim & Sun Yu Li (Singapore), Yann Follain & Pauline Gaudry (Singapore), Vellachi Ganesan (Singapore) and Ron Gilad presented by Flos (Singapore). The selection was based on i) creativity of the light installation design which should be stimulating and engaging for the public, ii) feasibility of realising the idea and iii) the use of smart technology and/or design for energy efficiency. “i Light Marina Bay will present new ideas for light art and architectural lighting in city environment through stunning light art sculptures and designs,” said Ms Mary-Anne Kyriakou, Festival Director. “It will encourage cross-cultural exchange of ideas between the local and international artists as well as initiate an understanding of innovative approaches that reduce energy consumption and light wastage, while energising urban spaces.”To complement the stunning showcase of light art installations, Smart Light Singapore together with professional bodies in the areas of architecture, landscape, lighting, design, engineering as well as key education institutions and art galleries will be organising a series of educational and industry events. Community engagement will include numerous interactive activities embracing public spaces.i Light Marina Bay is supported by major sponsors Philips and Maybank Singapore. It will open nightly from 7.30pm to 12 midnight from 15 October to 7 November 2010. As a preview to the festival, one of the art pieces, Flight to Light, will be showcased at The Fullerton Heritage Gallery, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore from 12 August to 7 November, from 10am to 10pm daily. About Urban Redevelopment AuthorityThe Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is Singapore’s national land use planning and conservation authority. URA is also the development agency for Marina Bay. It spearheads Singapore’s development efforts at Marina Bay, taking a holistic approach to master plan and implement key infrastructure. As the place manager for Marina Bay, it also promotes investment opportunities and exciting activities within Marina Bay, in collaboration with other government agencies and private stakeholders.For more information, please visit www.ura.gov.sgAbout Smart Light SingaporeSmart Light Singapore (SLS) was established in 2010 as a not for profit entity to develop urban lighting festivals that would set new international standards for energy efficiency and provide family friendly, outdoor celebrations by illuminating public spaces through art sculptures and other smart light activities.Through these events and activities, SLS aims to increase awareness in reduction of energy usage, engage public and professional participation in beautification of public space through light art, support best practices in lighting design, promote dark city skies and promote discussion on sustainable city growth through design of the night environment.

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