Brixen illuminated in the name of peace
With the Water Light Festival, Brixen makes a compelling statement for contemporary art in public space—and for a theme of striking relevance: peace. The festival forms part of IMAGINE PEACE, a network of five international light art festivals across Denmark, Germany, Norway, Croatia and Italy, co-funded by the European Union.
Here, peace is framed as an open societal question. It is precisely this openness that defines the strength of the current edition. Light emerges as an autonomous language—immediate, emotive and universally intelligible.
At a time marked by crisis, polarisation and uncertainty, the festival creates a space in which art becomes a mode of reflection: accessible, sensorial and intellectually precise.
A city as resonant field
The curatorial premise is clear: the festival seeks to render peace tangible. The installations create situations in which perception, memory and position enter into relation. Light, water, sound and architecture coalesce into a parcours that rearticulates the city as lived experience. Historic squares, urban interstices or iconic sites are drawn into an artistic dialogue. In this way, Brixen becomes an active resonant field — a city that absorbs, reflects and transmits artistic expression.
» Participating artists
Ziyad Alroqi | Eva Esmann Behrens | Giulio Boccardi | Mara Oscar Cassiani | Sophie Guyot | Christoph Hinterhuber | Julian Hölscher | Gan Jian | Kokoschka Revival | Alessandro Lupi | Lysteater | Luzinterruptus | Studio McGuire | Leonardo Panizza | Miriam Prantl | Claudia Reh | Sabrina Ratté | Petar Šćulac | Julia Shamsheieva | Liminal State | Playmodes | Visualia Studio | VOID | Mutoid Waste Company
Carried by water – light art in space
Conceptually, themes of peace, memory, identity and sustainability intertwine, forming a dense reflection of the present. Questions of coexistence, responsibility and collective memory intersect with those of belonging, cultural transition and social vulnerability. The festival creates participatory spaces of experience. The result is a format that resonates emotionally—and lingers.
Light — immaterial, connective and universal —becomes a medium through which bridges are formed between generations, cultures and perspectives. As curator Nika Perne notes: “Light is an immaterial medium that can nonetheless exert a powerful emotional and societal impact.”
Between vision and reality
The theme of peace runs through the entire edition like a luminous thread, consistently linking artistic inquiry with social responsibility.
Sustainability is embedded within the concept — through materials, structures and modes of thinking. Technology, too, is presented in its ambivalence: as a means of connection, yet equally as an expression of power, control and ecological strain. It is here that the conceptual strength of this edition becomes evident. The Water Light Festival understands public space as a living site in which artistic experience, contemporary discourse and urban identity converge to generate new questions.
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Photos and credits:
Xavi Bové | Lunar Oscillations | Brixen Water Light Festival | © Brixen Tourismus | Foto: Michael Pezzei
Collectif Scale | Flux | Brixen Water Light Festival | © Brixen Tourismus | Foto: Matthias Gasser
Sam Durant | No lie can live forever | Brixen Water Light Festival | © Brixen Tourismus | Foto: Matthias Gasser
Stefano Cagol | The Global Warning | Brixen Water Light Festival | © Brixen Tourismus | Foto: Matthias Gasser
Termin: April 29 to May 16, 2026
Adresse: Brixen, Downtown / Italy