10-12 October 2025
Spotlight #9
Theme of the edition: Symbiosis
The theme of the 2025 edition of the Spotlight Festival, SYMBIOSIS/SYMBIOSIS, proposes a change of perspective: from competition to collaboration, from immediate results to living processes. The festival becomes a laboratory where artists, curators, brands and communities unite their energies to experiment and generate new forms of expression, in a dialogue between art, technology and ecology. Spotlight invites a reflection on how we can build sustainable cities and communities, where creativity, empathy and resources translate into a shared intelligence capable of regenerating not only urban space, but also the relationships between people.
About the #9th Edition
→The largest visual art event organized by the City Hall of Bucharest, through ARCUB — Cultural Center of Bucharest
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: Adrian Damian
Scenographer, President of the Romanian Centre OISTAT
Adrian Damian is a scenographer, creator of stage spaces and multimedia installations with a predilection for the use of technology as a means of artistic expression. After graduating from acting at the Faculty of Theatre and Film, UBB, Cluj-Napoca, he studied scenography at UNATC Bucharest and since graduating from the faculty in 2010 until now he has signed more than sixty scenographers in important theatres in Romania and abroad.
.png)
Spotlight Talks 2025
10-11 October
In addition to the public light shows, Spotlight aims to become a platform for professional dialogue, featuring presentations, round tables, and networking sessions that bring together artists, curators, producers, and light festival organizers from Romania and abroad.The conference is addressed to professionals in the visual arts, curators, festival organizers, artists, and students interested in new media, as well as representatives of cultural institutions, local administrations, and the creative industries. Its purpose is to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practices, present relevant case studies, promote innovation, and encourage future collaborations between artists, festivals, and cultural institutions.
Invited speakers:
Anastasia Isachsen (Fjord Oslo Light Festival, Norway), Davy & Kristin McGuire (Studio McGuire), Marcello Arosio (Kernel Festival, Italy), Marko Bolković (Visualia Festival, Croatia), Linartas Urniežis (Video Architects), Tamás Vásvári (Maxin10sity / Borealis Light Festival, USA), Patrick Grandi (Rencontres Audiovisuelles), Olivier Clape (Aerosculpture), Julien Menzel, Marc Sicard (Luminariste), and Pierre Froment (Groupe LAPS).
Invited speakers:
Anastasia Isachsen (Fjord Oslo Light Festival, Norway), Davy & Kristin McGuire (Studio McGuire), Marcello Arosio (Kernel Festival, Italy), Marko Bolković (Visualia Festival, Croatia), Linartas Urniežis (Video Architects), Tamás Vásvári (Maxin10sity / Borealis Light Festival, USA), Patrick Grandi (Rencontres Audiovisuelles), Olivier Clape (Aerosculpture), Julien Menzel, Marc Sicard (Luminariste), and Pierre Froment (Groupe LAPS).
Details and programme
Articles
