9-11 October 2026
Spotlight #10
Theme of the edition: Playground
The theme of the 2025 edition of the Spotlight Festival, PLAYGROUND, transforms Calea Victoriei into a space for exploration through video mapping and visual installations. The concept focuses on the interaction between the public, the city’s architecture and new technologies, through works that alter the perception of urban space and invite audiences to discover it in a different way. PLAYGROUND thus creates a space for experimentation and visual exploration, where familiar buildings and urban spaces take on new forms and perspectives through light.
About the #10th Edition
→The largest visual art event organized by the City Hall of Bucharest, through ARCUB
ARCUBorganizes Spotlightsince 2015, the year in which it launched the first light art festival in Romania, aligning the Capital with the international network of major festivals. Through its curatorial vision and its ability to mobilize artists and partners from the country and abroad, ARCUB has turned Spotlight into a landmark of the Bucharest cultural scene, confirming the institution's role as a pathfinder and integrator of new forms of artistic expression in the public space.
300.000+
visitors/edition
20+
light installations or projections
included in each edition
included in each edition
7.000 m²+
of exhibition space on Calea Victoriei and adjacent areas
Curator: Dorel Naste
creative director, founder Mindscape Studio
Visual artist, multimedia experience creator and one of the pioneers of video mapping in Romania, Dorel Naste has built his career at the intersection of art, technology and urban space. Over the years, his projects have transformed buildings, squares and public spaces into immersive experiences that have captivated audiences in Romania and around the world. With Mindscape Studio, he has received numerous international distinctions, including the Platinum Award for Projection Mapping Supplier at the 2024 Eventex Awards, as well as awards at iMapp, the Visual Artist Awards and Eventex.
Spotlight Talks 2026
10-11 October
As part of Spotlight’s anniversary edition, Bucharest hosts the Annual General Meeting of the International Light Festivals Organisation (ILO), bringing together directors and representatives of light festivals, alongside artists and industry professionals. The ILO meeting takes place on 10 October at ARCUB – Hanul Gabroveni and is complemented by Spotlight Talks, held on 10–11 October.
Under the theme “Light, Art & the City,” Spotlight Talks explores the role of light festivals in contemporary cities, from engaging audiences and local communities and activating public space to collaborating with public authorities and partners. The programme also addresses emerging artistic and technological directions, including the use of artificial intelligence in light installations.B
ringing together international festival directors and artists, the programme features roundtables, presentations and audience discussions, positioning Spotlight as a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange and collaboration within the international light festival community.
Under the theme “Light, Art & the City,” Spotlight Talks explores the role of light festivals in contemporary cities, from engaging audiences and local communities and activating public space to collaborating with public authorities and partners. The programme also addresses emerging artistic and technological directions, including the use of artificial intelligence in light installations.B
ringing together international festival directors and artists, the programme features roundtables, presentations and audience discussions, positioning Spotlight as a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange and collaboration within the international light festival community.
Details and program coming soon
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