New York Festival of Light Is Illuminating DUMBO Starting Tomorrow Night
An image of the 2013 NYFOL event in Nolita
There’s never a shortage of artsy events taking place in Brooklyn, but the New York Festival of Light (NYFOL) is a first-timer on the block. The curated collection of lighting installations will take over DUMBO from the night of November 6th to the 8th, and is being put on in partnership with the DUMBO Improvement District.
Free and open to the public, the event will take place in and around the archway under the Manhattan Bridge, spilling out onto the surrounding plaza. The array of multi-sensory installations created by more than a dozen artists includes projection mapping, laser lighting, video art, illuminated sculptures, and wearable light technologies.
A rendering of NYFOL in DUMBO
Other major cities, including Berlin, London, Montreal and Sydney, have been holding annual light festivals for several years; now the New York Festival of Light, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, will produce the event each year in New York City. The group’s work “encourages local and internationally-based lighting designers, artists, musicians, and technologists to explore the possibilities of light and then presents their installations during the festival.”
2013 NYFOL event in Nolita
To help fund the festival, NYFOL’s founders–Liam O’Braion, a producer of large-scale entertainment events, and Ira Levy, an award-winning New York City-based lighting designer–have established a Kickstarter campaign. They also produced an introductory event a year ago at the Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita, where hundreds of New Yorkers had the chance to experience a small-scale version of what will take place this week in DUMBO.
The group chose to host the event in early November since daylight savings time has just passed and people are longing for light. The show will also feature DJs and food trucks.
According to Alexandria Sica, executive director of the DUMBO Improvement District, “NYFOL will illuminate the historic infrastructure that defines the architectural fabric of DUMBO and create a dazzling event for thousands New Yorkers and visitors from around the globe.”
New York Festival of Light
Water Street and Pearl Street- DUMBO, Brooklyn
Thursday November 6th: 7pm-11pm
Friday November 7th: 5pm – 11pm
Saturday November 8th: 5pm – 11pm
Photos via NYFOL
