Following the success of the inaugural Spier Light Art Festival, the
historic Stellenbosch wine farm will present a second edition from 6 December
2019 to 19 January 2020.
The first edition of the festival took place over Dec 2018 / Jan 2019,
lighting Spier up with an array of artworks incorporating light and sound. More
than 10 000 people viewed the 18 artworks, ranging from interactive
installations to pieces that invited the visitor to pause and reflect.
The festival’s curators, Jay Pather and Vaughn Sadie, said: “Light art installations are intractable and mercurial by nature. Transcending the confines of their materiality, light artworks are also defined by what they illuminate or hide. These experiences – of walking and pausing, catching a glimpse or settling down to absorb – invited introspection, adventure and playfulness. Scattered across the Spier estate, each work offered an opportunity to experience the complex, multi-hued, multi-faceted texture of our environment and ourselves.”
The Sunday Times Neighbourhood supplement wrote about the
previous Spier Light Art Festival: “Far from your average colourful and
flashing Christmas light show, the Spier Light Art Fest is an emotional and
even physical affair, but always amazes… you won’t be disappointed.”
Call for expression of interest
Designers, architects, light and sound artists – as well as students and
institutions – are invited to submit expressions
of interest for projects that are engaging to all age groups. Applicants
are encouraged to keep the youth in mind; this does not mean that serious
issues cannot be presented, but merely that content is exhibited in a way that
is engaging to young minds. Focus will be on proposals incorporating a sense of
discovery and interactive play for children and adults alike.
Expressions of interest can respond to either of the two broad themes:
- The whimsical/ethereal: works can
reflect a light-hearted engagement with one of multiple sites with a possible
focus on interaction and audience experience.
- The conceptual: works can reflect and
integrate more topical conceptual interests that frame our current
socio-political landscape. Works could also reflect on
our shifting relationship to technology and its disruptive
influence.
Expressions of interest must include a short response to either of the
themes (no more than a page), concept sketches and provisional budget
indicating whether this is to be funded in part or total by the Spier Arts
Trust. These can be sent to Nadja at lightart@spier.co.za before 3 June 2019. A more thorough proposal may be
requested after the initial short list is announced.
The Spier Arts Trust will fund or part fund the installations chosen by
the Selection Committee headed by curator Jay Pather.
Artworks showcased at the first edition of the festival offer creatives
ideas for the kinds of works that the Selection Committee are interested in
featuring. Refer to last year’s programme for inspiration: https://www.spier.co.za/art/light-art-festival
