LIGHTING GUERRILLA 2025
19th international festival of light
DISTURBANCES
23th May−14th June 2025
Ljubljana
Expecting our lives to be predictable or at least moderately settled, we are quick to become agitated at the appearance of any disturbance that disrupts our daily routine and interrupts our usual course. The spectrum of potential disturbances reaching our minds and bodies nowadays seems to be all-encompassing: we can encounter them both in the physical world, whether in the city or in the natural environment, as well as in virtual spaces and, of course, in various social interactions. However, much of what happens in the social field is, in the age of rampant neoliberalism, manifesting itself as a kind of disturbance, a departure from the normality we have become accustomed to. Disturbances are departures from the established course of things, which implies that they are temporary; on the other hand, they can also enable us to grow and to gain new insights, an enriched knowledge of the world in which we live. The works of art of this year’s Lighting Guerrilla Festival, the central theme of which is Distruptions, are not lacking this kind of emphases – local artists as well as a troop of their colleagues from abroad, are interpreting the theme of disturbances with the help of the medium of light in ways that are extremely varied and interesting both in terms of their content and form. The expressiveness of the presented works touches upon the physical or spatial, social and purely psychological aspects of various disturbances. Often, the authors draw on the effects of technology on our daily lives, exploring and interpreting the numerous phenomena of the modern world by playing with the viewer’s perception. After all, art itself can function as a kind of disturbance – unfortunately, it is still perceived as such by many, as, nonetheless, evidenced by the increasing difficulty of finding suitable locations for its presentation, or their inaccessibility due to various commercial appetites.
This year, festival venues – with the epicentre of the happening still being Galerija Vžigalica (The Match Gallery) and its immediate surroundings – are scattered across wider city centre, stretching from Špica in Prule to AKC Metelkova mesto. Over the three weeks of the festival (with the exhibition at the Match Gallery on display until the end of the summer), a series of light installations, projections and spatial interventions shall be on view at selected locations, the central connecting element of which, alongside the title theme itself, is the exploration of the medium of light in the context of contemporary visual and intermedia art. This year, we have also organised the Lighting Guerrilla Laboratory, a programme of production workshops where artists of different provenances, assisted by experienced mentors, have developed new works of art. Moreover, we also invited a number of educational institutions to participate, providing students or pupils with technical and curatorial support in the production and the challenging placements of artworks in the city’s public spaces. The cycle entitled Supernova deserves a special mention: these are the first major solo outdoor light projects by a number of the young authors. Furthermore, the festival also includes a new permanent installation; the opening shall take place at the Square with No Historical Memory at the heart of AKC Metelkova mesto (Autonomous Cultural Centre Metelkova City) exactly one week after the opening of the festival (30 May).
We believe that the 19th edition of the festival brings a varied and interesting programme that will attract a large audience in the public space, for which also our regular guided bike tours are intended (every Wednesday and Saturday evening). Of course, the festival would not be possible without the cooperation of numerous partners and co-producers, the generous contributions of sponsors and the encouraging understanding of residents, and, above all, without the valuable alliance of a loyal and supportive public.
Open-air projects can be viewed every day of the week between 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
Dance performance in cooperation with Dance Theatre Ljubljana performed by Alja Lacković, who will engage in a movement based dialogue with the projection every Wednesday at 21.30
We are not liable for any programme changes due to force majeure; follow updated information on our website or social networks.
Cover photo: RaumZeitPiraten: Physarum