Next Ghent Light Festival to feature drones and AI

Ghent Light Festival will showcase 32 artworks in the Flemish city in 2024. Artists will build installations using technology such as artificial intelligence and drones. Traditional techniques such as stained glass will also be used at the sixth edition of the light festival, which was presented on Tuesday.

National and international artists are participating in the festival, both emerging talent and established names. The highlight will be a giant red sphere by Spanish artist SpY, which will dominate the Schipperskaai. There will also be colourful soap bubbles by Australian Atelier Sisu in Dok Zuid.

Almost half of the works have ties to Ghent and there are numerous collaborations with local organisations and companies. The European Space Agency will use augmented reality to show how satellite images help humankind, and the Ghent company Fisheye will shoot messages from visitors into space in Morse code.

The full programme was unveiled in Ghent's Aula academica, where a preview of the festival is on show until 6 December. Conos is a temporary work of art with orange cones around the columns of the building, which will be renovated into a conference centre next year.

The festival runs from 31 January to 4 February 2024.

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