This year's program invites us to celebrate our community, to lift our gaze, and open up to reflection and hope. Look forward to light art that weaves light and darkness, dream and reality, together. You can experience the light installations from Domkirkeplassen, continuing to Obstfelders plass, St. Petri, Pedersgata, the silos in the East, and all the way to Støperigata near Lervig Park. Welcome to an inclusive celebration and magical moments!
BEACON OF LIGHT / 1024 Architecture. Location: Domkirkeplassen
Threads of light weave through the darkness. They reach toward the sky, beyond all that we can see. Arch after arch, as though the city itself lifts its gaze, reaching for something infinite. The modern and the timeless, the familiar and the unexplored, merge in the heart of Stavanger in this spectacular audiovisual artwork. Domkirkeplassen becomes a place of wonder, a space where boundaries dissolve, inviting us to dream a little higher.
BEACON OF LIGHT is sponsored by Hermes and Sparebanken Vest.
About the artists:
1024 Architecture operates at the crossroads of art and architecture, combining spatial practices, digital technologies, and visual creation. From small-scale objects intended for indoor exhibitions, to monumental installations in the public space. What distinguishes 1024 Architure`s works, is their unique approach to space through the tools of geometry, light, sound, and movement.
JEG ER / Pia Wall & Hildegunn K. Tessmann. Location: Obstfelders plass
Faculty of Arts and Education at the University of Stavanger has gathered 900 children and youth from Rogaland to leave their mark on Glød. Feelings, moods, and identities of children and young people are portrayed through their pure joy of drawing and co-creation. This artwork reminds us of the power of self-expression – a tribute to imagination and community, where all expressions have been equally important in the process of creating a collective piece.
- Music composed by Kaada.
- Animation by Jacob Bowitz Jensen.
About the Artists:
Associate Professor and Artistic Director Pia Wall, a digital illustrator, and University Lecturer and Creative Co-Producer, Hildegunn K. Tessmann, are the creators behind the project I AM. Their artwork explores identity, community and the joy of drawing among children and young people.
GAIA / Luke Jerram. Location: St Petri
Experience the fragile beauty of our planet through a breathtaking six-meter-diameter sculpture adorned with detailed NASA imagery. As you gaze upon this floating world, it becomes a mirror, capturing the delicate balance between humanity and nature. And every glance brings us a reminder – we are stewards of this shared home, and we have a responsibility toward one another beyond borders and generations. A specially made sound composition by BAFTA award winning composer Dan Jones is played alongside the sculpture.
About the Artist:
Luke Jerram's multidisciplinary practice involves the creation of sculptures, installations and live arts projects. Living in the UK but working internationally since 1997, Jerram has created a number of extraordinary art projects which have excited and inspired people around the world. In 2023 alone, he had over 115 exhibitions in 27 different countries, visited by more than 3 million people.
Experience GAIA accompanied by free concerts and events!
- 20th January 19.00-21.00: Hospitality – Together for peace
Link to free tickets: https://glod-lysfestival.hoopla.no/event/2824420177
- 21st January 19.00-20.00: Lecture about Dag Hammarskjöld
Link to free tickets: https://glod-lysfestival.hoopla.no/event/2460371183
- 22nd January 18.00-19.00: Concert with Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
Link to free tickets: https://glod-lysfestival.hoopla.no/event/3585873392
- 22nd January 20.00-21.00: Concert with Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
Link to free tickets: https://glod-lysfestival.hoopla.no/event/4110187889
- 25th January 17.00-18.00: “The Planets” – Organ concert
Link to free tickets: https://glod-lysfestival.hoopla.no/event/2236878861
- 28th January 21.00-22.00: “The Planets” – Organ concert
Link to free tickets: https://glod-lysfestival.hoopla.no/event/2176520835
- 1st February 18.00-19.00: Ukrainian vocal ensemble “Mrija” & Liudmyla Shorosheva
Link to free tickets: https://glod-lysfestival.hoopla.no/event/4274798391
- 1st February 20.00-21.00: Ukrainian vocal ensemble “Mrija” & Liudmyla Shorosheva
Link to free tickets: https://glod-lysfestival.hoopla.no/event/2358921617
The events are a collaboration between the Glød Light Festival and Stavanger Cathedral and St. Petri Parish.
THE TRAVELLERS / Cedric Le Borgne. Location: Pedersgata 40, 67 & 110
They appear and disappear in the sky, they fly between rooftops, they observe and explore the city. They care for us. THE TRAVELLERS are a series of light sculptures that stage the public space, and invite us into a world between dream and reality, between heaven and earth. Smedvig is a jubilee partner of Stavanger 2025, and the sculptures are a gift from Smedvig to Glød. THE TRAVELLERS will be a part of the Glød Light Festival every year.
About the artist:
Cedric Le Borgne integrates movement, time and space in his work. THE TRAVELLERS have travelled all over the world, from Geneva to Seoul, from London to Singapore. By staging public spaces, the artist above all wants to celebrate the poetry of daily life. For him, the city is a playground, a space for encounters and sharing.
HOPE / Ainu Palmu. Location: Pedersgata 125
I am a dove. I am noble, I feel love. I bring a message of peace. On special days, I and my fellow doves burst into the sky like a bright cloud. Or am I a pigeon? I’m grey and a bit daft, I coo. I’m an urban hawk’s dinner, all that’s left is a pile of feathers on a rock. I know not to fly into windows – they’re just reflections of the sky. I build my nest on an illuminated shop sign, tucked inside the letter A. We take to the skies, sharp and fast, together. Hope is a three minutes long narrative and projection that changes in time.
About the artist:
Lighting designer and light artist Ainu Palmu, integrates animation, video, and set design. Her art combines abstract and factual imagery, exploring transitions and beauty’s depth. Currently, she focuses on interspecies coexistence and humanity’s role in shaping Earth’s future.
MOON / Randiane Aalberg Sandboe & Geir Olav Sebjørnsen. Location: Støperigata 38
MOON is an artwork that brings us closer to the mystique of the moon. Through the scenic tools of a lighting designer, and the perspective of an exhibition architect with an eye for grand experiences, the moon takes on a warmth that glows in the dark and a transparency that explores the invisible. What do you see?
About the artists:
Randiane Aalberg Sandboe is a lighting designer and visual artist based in Bergen, Norway. She holds a master in architectural lighting design from Hochschule Wismar in Germany, and a bachelor in interior architecture from the University of Bergen. Today, Sandboe works as lighting designer for theatre and dance, in addition to making her own light art installations.
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