(Germany) – Urban light laboratory accompanies Light+Building for eighth time with programme of projections, installations, talks and parties.

The eighth Luminale is set to accompany Light+Building with around 200 light events in Frankfurt am Main and Offenbach this year. Whilst on the exhibition grounds, the exhibition will present novelties to more than 200,000 experts, light planners, architects, designers, artists and students who can experiment with the medium of light in the urban laboratory in Frankfurt and Offenbach. Projections, installations, tours and talks, performances, catwalks and parties invite both trade fair visitors and citizens to discover the city on the trail of light. This year, a Luminale bus connects the events and the evenings are decidedly longer due to moving the dates of Light+Building to before summertime.

At Rossmarkt, a ‘Zukunftspavillon’ (future pavilion) has been erected and the Karmeliter Cloister has been taken over by the Bundesverband der Innenarchitekten (Federal Association of Interior Designers), showcasing the role light plays in our wellbeing. Tobias Grau will open his showroom for the Luminale, while museums, exhibitions and galleries present artistic items.

In the city centre at Hauptwache, the artist duo Hartung & Trenz will transform the Katharinenkirche church into a light and meditation space, creating an immersive space to fascinate its guests. Just around the corner, Tom Groll plays with symbols, signs and bank notes on the facade of the Deutsche Bank building.

Churches as public spaces play a big role at this Luminale. The RaumZeitPiraten present their light installation in the Weißfrauenkirche church in the middle of the red light district. Eberhard Bosslet hosts a lightning storm in the Haus am Dom. Hfg Offenbach professors Rosalie and Holzbach will activate a ‘Traumraum’ (dream space) with their students in the Nikolaikirche church at Römer. On the Sachsenhausen side of the river the Dreikönigkirche church will draw the crowds (Betty Rieckmann) just as the Bonifatius church will, where Herbert Cybulska will show his scenographic ideas.

Another highlight will include the light kinetic space art performance by Christopher Bauder ‘Berliner Lichtgrenze’, who has composed his own piece together with the composer Robert Henke, specially for Luminale. This will take place at Mousonturm and tickets for the performances (5 x 45 minute performances every evening) can be booked in advance of Luminale. Opposite the Mousonturm, the Naxoshalle will present viewpoints by young light designers, hosted by the Willy Praml Theatre, which will also offer a culinary service for Luminale visitors.

Light designer Robin Uber from Cologne won the Mainova competition in 2016 and will plunge a central transformer station of the Frankfurt utilities company into Piet Mondrian’s colour scheme for Luminale and beyond. Nearby, Reiner Plum will stage his laser light in the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Among the technical highlights are Germany’s largest OLED light wave (hatec) in the lobby of Neue Mainzer Str. 80.

Exhibitors at Light+Building will be supporting Luminale projects, for example Zumtobel with artist Miriam Prantl and Osram with Sigi Bußinger. iGuzzini will carry on working with Christian Uitz on the lighting concept for the main station, while Tjark Ihmels from the Institut für zeitbasierte Medien and his students will be active in the lobby of the main station.

Building sites will be transformed into exhibition sites, in locations such as at the Historical Museum at the Römer. At the main station students from the Mainzer Hochschule will present their projects. The new car park (schneider + schumacher) at the coach station adjacent to the main station will be interactively illuminated by MESO, and the Deutsche Bahn invites us to the S-Bahn station Taunusanlage where student projects will be taking place.

The longterm lighting project along the banks of the Main has now reached Höchst. For Luminale 2016 the completed illumination concept by the city planning office will be presented to the public.

The European Central Bank will take part in Luminale for the first time after its construction phase. Both in the city centre at Willy-Brandt-Platz and on the facade of its new building at Osthafen, the bank signalises that Frankfurt is the city of the Euro. Alongside this, Helaba permits a look at the Bill Viola installation and the DZ Bank invites us to a tour of the Sky Lobby by James Turrell.

Connected by a dedicated bus line, in the neighbouring town of Offenbach – the creative venue in the Rhein Main area – a growing range of projects will attract visitors, including: The harbour entrance of the town development area – harbour Offenbach – will become a shining landmark; the Heyne factory will be the stage for a group of Dutch light artists from iLo in Amsterdam; and the Deutsche Ledermuseum will make its Luminale debut.

Those who wish to concentrate on individual events will find a wide selection. For example, the opening is the Science Slam in the AudiMax at the Goethe University. Here, young scientists present complicated light physics in an understandable and entertaining manner. In the Deutsche Architekturmuseum, media architecture specialists will meet, while at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences urban lighting and masterplan experts for symposia will come together. In the Baseler Oval, international light designers will speak at a fast PechaKucha tempo about their ideas and concepts. This will include speakers: Peter Weibel (ZKM Karlsruhe), Kaoru Mende (Tokyo), Jean-Francois Zurawic (Lyon), Mark Major and Moritz Waldemeyer (London) and Michael Badics (Ars Electronica Linz). Finally, the saasfee pavillion invites guests to a happening every evening as well as a party and Light Fashion Catwalk in the Gibson Club at the Zeil.

Luminale will be banking on the visitors’ love of discovery again as well as the professional curiosity of trade fair guests and the next generation’s love of experimentation.

A Selection of Participating Artists:

Christopher Bauder, Merlin Baum, Franz Betz, Friedrich Biedermann (A), Adrian Bischoff, Katrin Bethge, Eberhard Bosslet, Marco Brianza (I), Willi Bucher, Sigi Bußinger, Jeongmoon Choi (RUO), Titia Ex (NL), Anitia Doornheim (NL), Cerith Wyn Evans (UK), Laura J Gerlach, Paul Göschel, Tom Groll, Andrea T. Hannig, Detlef Hartung, Robert Henke, Jan Jacob Hofmann, Tjark Ihmels, Johannes Kriesche, Mischa Kuball, Thomas Lüer, Matinka Marac (NL), Robert Meyer, Johannes Pfeifer (I), Rainer Plum, Miriam Prantl (A), Anton Quiring, RaumZeitPiraten, Betty Rieckmann, rosalie, Julia Schäfer, Valerie Schaller, Peter Schlör, Lidy Six (NL), Georg Trenz, James Turrell (USA), Roos van Haaften (NL), Bill Viola (USA), Silke Wagner, Ulrich Wagner, Peter Weibel, Franziskus Wendels, Alfred Wolski.

Important Dates:

Saturday 12.3. | 20.00 h Science Slam Luminale Special, AudiMax, Goethe University, Campus Westend

Saturday 12.3. | 20.00 h Luminale Opening Offenbach / Fluorescent Catwalk, Hafen 2, Nordring 129, Offenbach

Sunday 13.3. | Luminale Opening with numerous vernissages

Monday 14.3. | 20.00 h PechaKucha Luminale Night, Baseler Oval, Baseler Str. 10, admission 19.00 h international list of speakers: Mark Major (Speirs & Major), Kaoru Mende (LPA,Tokyo), Rogier van der Heide (Zumtobel, Amsterdam), Moritz Waldemeyer (London), Peter Weibel (ZKM-Intendant, Karlsruhe), Michael Badics (Ars Electronica, Linz), Mischa Kuball (Düsseldorf), Jean-Francois Zurawik (Lyon Festival), Titia Ex (Amsterdam), Klaus Teltenkötter (Mainz), Antonius Quodt (Lightlife, Köln), Jean-Michel Quesne (Skertzò, Paris), Aleksandra Stratimirovic (Stockholm, Belgrade), Jürgen Meier (Lichtfest Leipzig)

Tuesday/Wednesday 15.3./16.3. Media Architecture Summit by the Media Architecture Institute, Vienna in the Deutsche Architekturmuseum, Schaumainkai 43, 10.00 – 17.00 h with Susanne Seitinger (Philips) and others

Thursday 17.3. | Stadtlicht – CityLight, Symposium Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Kleiststr., building 1: 15.00 – 20.00 h with Roger Narboni, Uwe Knappschneider, Michael Batz and others

Friday 18.3. INNENarchitekturOFFEN 2016, BDIA Hessen, extensive presentation programme from 15.30 till 22.00 h

Friday 18.3. | Luminale Closing Party, MTW, Nordring 131, Offenbach

Guided Tours:

world-architects, Luminale Bus Tours with Thomas Geuder
Advance booking required. Start: Paulsplatz

Architecture in Dialogue: Greencity / Osthafen with Susanne Petry, Pier F
Skyline Tour on a Primus Line Main (from Eiserner Steg)

Historical Tram (round trip)
Kulturothek, Tours and round trips (Exclusive bus tours also available for groups)

Frankfurter Stadtevents, focus night time photography

Every Day:

GRID – Light and sound kinetic performance by Christopher Bauder and Robert Henke (composer) in the Mousonturm, Waldschmidtstr. 4: every day on the hour from 7 pm – midnight. Tickets available at the door and in advance: http://www.mousonturm.de/web/de/veranstaltung/grid

Central Locations:

Naxoshalle, Theater Willy Praml, Waldschmidtstraße (U-Bahn: Merianplatz)

Karmeliterkloster, Braubachstraße, Frankfurt (U-Bahn: Willy-Brandt-Platz)

Kunstverein Montez, Honsellbrücke (S-Bahn: Osthafen)

Taunus-/Gallusanlage (S-Bahnhof Taunusanlage)

Römer, Frankfurter Innenstadt (U-Bahn: Dom/Römer)

Hauptbahnhof, all around the main station (S/U-Bahn: Hauptbahnhof)

Heyne Fabrik, Offenbach (S-Bahn: Ledermuseum)

Participating Museums:

Institut für Stadtgeschichte (Karmeliterkloster), historisches museum frankfurt, Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Deutsches Filmmuseum, Museum für Kommunikation, Senckenberg Naturmuseum, Experimenta, Klingspor-Museum, Deutsches Ledermuseum

Transport:

Luminale bus line, departs from Messe Frankfurt/Eingang City from 18.00 every 15 minutes. In the core time between 20.00 and 21.00 very high demand. A total of 17 stops throughout the city. Free of charge.

Public Transport:

With your Light+Building ticket all buses, S- and U-Bahns in Frankfurt/Offenbach can be used free of charge.

Luminale Express Bus between Frankfurt and Offenbach. In Offenbach a tour along the Offenbach Luminale parcour every hour.

www.luminale.de