There’s a free outdoor light-based art exhibition currently on display in Toronto where visitors can check out the illumination of several unique light installations.
Lumière: The Art of Light festival has transformed Ontario Place’s Trillium Park into a huge art display where guests can experience 17 interactive light installations every day of the week from sunset to 11 p.m.
The free festival is a perfect night out for art lovers wanting to see exhibits come to light or who are looking to explore the city. Lumière is bringing locals and visitors together to revel in the beauty of Toronto’s vibrant visual arts.
The exhibition is compiled by 17 talented Ontario-based artists and creators and is meant to showcase innovation, creativity, light and discovery. They were asked to design a project under the theme “Connections” which encourages people to think and interpret the way light can connect people, the environment and different aspects of one’s life.
Some of the art projects visitors can see are “WIND: Harmony in Motion” by Samuel Kiehoon Lee, “Greenhouse Reflect” by Little Dada + the Boys, “Trail” by Melissa Joakim, and “Virtual Visage” by Bitbrainz (Christina Kayastha), among others.
Now Toronto spoke to a few of the artists featured in this year’s exhibition, including Christina Kayastha who is the creator of “Virtual Visage.” She says her piece is about how we connect with each other in a digital era.
”It’s inspired by the hashtag #nofilter. When we appear online, we often tend to use filters or AI generated or digitally assisted media in order to portray ourselves or connect with each other. So, this piece is trying to challenge participants against that,” she said.
“It’s trying to say, when we connect with each other digitally, how can we be more authentic? How can we be our true selves? And so, the piece actually has two sides to it. On one side, it represents our reality, and the other side represents our digitally modified cells. And so as participants interact with it, they’re trying to see, how do they modify their faces when they appear online?” she continued.
This year marks Kayastha’s second time being a part of the festival. Last year, she presented a piece called “Bloom Promenade.” Similarly, this year marks the second time Melissa Joakim is participating in Lumière, and she created her interactive piece titled “Trail.”
“It’s an array of vectors on a bridge and when you approach the piece from one side, one side will light up. When you approach the piece from the other side, the other side will light up. But if two strangers happen to cross the bridges at the same time, then they have an ultimate rainbow effect,” Joakim said.
“I hope that when people experience this piece that they connect with people around them. I think that it’s a really great way to look at Trillium Park in a different way,” she added.
Joakim encourages people to visit the festival not just for the artwork but also to see the park itself as it’s a hidden gem and offers the best view of the Toronto skyline.
“I think people crave connection and that they want to find a reason to be part of a community. I think that this festival and the way that the artists have come together around the theme of connection, there’s really something here for everybody,” she said.
Lumière is free to visit at Trillium Park until Apr. 20 from 6:30 p.m to 11 p.m., seven nights a week. Bonfires will also be hosted at the park’s fire pit from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. every Friday and Saturday.
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