My friend recently moved to Eindhoven and meeting him is a good excuse to see this city as well and what occasion better than the GLOW festival! Glow is a Light Art Festival that happens every year in November and this year it was the 14th edition and is happening right now, this year from 9-16 Nov! This year, in 2019n the theme is called 'Living Colors'. Many of these installations were created here in Eindhoven itself, by designers from across the globe. It begins at 6:30pm and we started at about 7:00pm and were on the streets till about 9:30pm and could complete about, a bit more than half the route.
BEST THINGS TO DO IN EINDHOVEN IN NOVEMBER
Walking through the streets of Eindhoven to see some of the light art installations of one of the best Light Festivals in Europe. Hands down this is one of the best things to do in Eindhoven in autumn in November. Most definitely November is the best time to visit Eindhoven.
LIGHT ART INSTALLATIONS AT GLOW - EINDHOVEN LIGHT FESTIVAL
We visited there last weekend. Living close to the railway station, our first stop was Sunflowers for Van Gogh. Ofcourse, its Netherlands, so it definitely has a connection with Vincent Van Gogh and he definitely has a connection with Sunflowers!!! This light installation is created by Gu Yeliang and Hugo Vrijdag made in the traditional Chinese Lantern style!
Our next stop was Sink, at Warehouse of Innovation. Its an interior display & is the brainchild of Lumus Instruments and Albert van Abbe. It felt like a warehouse turned into a discotheque, complete with laser light show. Check out the video below for it. Just outside this building is a huge discolight ball, which is an artwork called Panic at the Disco by the local artist, Lucas Maassen. Our next stop was Hypar, an artwork by the Ignite, a team of students from Eindhoven Institute of Technology. Its several aluminium cubes together forming a hyperbolic paraboloid. Next was Lumiere Tango at Heuvel Mall which were a set of about 48 blue stage-spotlights making a synchronized dance! This is an artwork by Astor Piazolla, from Amsterdam. The mall also has 7 more displays in the first floor and 1 more at the exit which we chose to skip!
After passing by smaller displays, our next big stop was at Floral Flow in the Dommel River near Van Abbe Museum. This has 4 buds that are 'fed' by light and bloom into flowers! This is created by the students of Fontys University. The next video mapping was supposed to be on the Van Abbe Museum itself which wasn't working on the day we went!
Our next stop was Ping, a roller-coaster like display but of lights! This is also a creation of an Eindhoven based artist, Gijs van Bon. Its a series of beacons, that lays 150m long. Light & Sound are transmitted from one beacon to another till the end. Some are slow and melodious while some are quick and loud! Located outside of the central city area, this installation in the middle of dark night was splendid! Have a look at the video to get an idea of this spectacle!
Further ahead were 3 more video mapping and the Light Show Noviter in Philips Stadium. Unfortunately it was getting a bit too late and a bit too chilly outside to be with our little Atyudarini and we chose to skip those and head back home.
The only issue with Glow Eindhoven is that its too many displays in too small space. In comparison - for the size of London, there were 50 installations split in 6 areas during London Lumiere and in Brussels there were only 12 installations during Bright Brussels! Eindhoven on the other hand is a smaller city and it has 33 installations, within a smaller area within the city!!! The crowd was unbelievable. With the size of this city, and the small part of the city which was used for the displays, it felt very crowded. At some places we had to just walk with the crowd, we couldn't go back or overtake! The crowd was very well managed though. Volunteers & guards were present everywhere. I really hope they utilize more area in the upcoming editions and place the installations across different areas, including Strijp S area, north of the Railway station etc.
TIPS FOR VISITING GLOW EINDHOVEN LIGHT FESTIVAL
Be aware of the crowd, esp., if you're traveling with young children or elderly people. You may want to skip those strollers and take baby carriers.
If you have limited time choose only to see the 'Great Lights' (the pink dots on the Glow Eindhoven Route map) which are gorgeous visual spectacles like video mapping on buildings!
The Glow Eindhoven App becomes live only during the dates of Glow Festival.
TICKETS OF GLOW EINDHOVEN LIGHT FESTIVAL
All are free of cost, except the Noviter show at Philips Stadium.
Noviter Show - €5 - online; €7.5 at ticket desk, €1 for children below 12.
OTHER SIMILAR LIGHT FESTIVALS FROM ACROSS EUROPE
London Lumiere, Bright Brussels, Berlin Light Festival, Ghent Illuminated Path,
I love light festivals. The Glow Festival would definitely be a great reason to visit Eindhaven. Sunflowers always make me smile. Especially a big field of lit ones. I have never seen a video mapping demonstration. This one looks amazing. I am sure the light roller coaster was mesmerizing. So amazing that they had 33 installations. Must have been easier to see them all. But as you said, much more crowded. But so much fun.
ReplyDeleteThis festival reminds me of the one in Lyon called "la fête des lumières". I love how cities reinvent themselves to showcase their patrimony under a different angle. And a light show at night is one of the best ways in my opinion. I am really glad to see more town offering such festival ad Eindhoven is certainly not to miss.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like such an amazing festival! I'm headed to a botanical park in NYC that is doing a festival of lights for the season and I hope it is as cool as this! I love that they made it affordable for everyone!
ReplyDeleteSo many beautiful installations! We have a similar event in Poland, it's called Bella Skyway Festival in Toruń. However, it has the same problem as GLOW - lots of installations in the quite small historical center, so its really crowded, especially as it takes place in the summer period.
ReplyDeleteI've always considered Eindhoven as a transfer hub to bigger cities, as it's a destination of some low-cost airlines, but it seems that it would be worth to spend there some time in November :)
Oh la la sunflowers are my all time favorite flowers and I love light shows! Beautiful instillation. I loved when I lived in sydney they had Vivid festival of lights which brightened up the town for weeks. Such a sight to see!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom's family is Dutch and I have been traveling to the Netherlands since I was a child. Although I have visited Eindhoven, never went during this festival. It looks so cool. Next time I visit in November, I will make sure I go to Eindhoven to try to catch this festival.
ReplyDeleteOh wow I'd never heard of this festival before but it's so beautiful - my kids would love this, what a nice tradition and experience. I love the Netherlands and lived there for a year so I'm sad I didn't know about this but more reason to go back and visit again
ReplyDeleteLaura x
There are a lot of countries where I visit the popular city and move on. The Netherlands is a place where my heart yearns to visit and explore more of, and its for cool reasons like the one in this post! I love these type of installations! I love the sunflowers as a nod to Van Gogh, so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love light festivals as they are very vibrant and cheerful and that too in winter season. There this Glow & Light Art Festival which happens every year in November at Eindhoven would be great to admire for. Good to know that this year's theme is called 'Living Colors'. Hypar, an artwork by the Ignite, by team of students from Eindhoven Institute of Technology looks very unique and modern style of installation. It must be good to see several aluminium cubes together forming a hyperbolic paraboloid which are illuminated in several beautiful colors.
ReplyDeleteI love this review. I have been to one of the lantern festival in Japan which is somewhat similar but I never knew that they something similar somewhere in Eindhaven. I love the fact that they chose sunflower as it is brightest and the most pleasant flower. This gives me another reason to visit Eindhaven, probably at the same time for this festival.
ReplyDeletePerfect timing! I was just looking a commercial yesterday about a Light Art Festival close to our town this month, and I was wondering if it is worth a visit. This certainly looks beautiful. I don't think ours is a yearly thing though like in Eindhoven. It was interesting to see what it's all about and how fun it can be.
ReplyDeleteThis light festival is so fascinating! I love the Sunflowers for Van Gogh the most, because it's beautifully designed and positioned, in my opinion. Besides, it's my favorite flower. ;-) I wonder if they played disco music at the Sink. Which I think they should if they didn't do it. It would make the area more festive. Imagine visitors dancing to the lights.
ReplyDeleteWow! I've never heard about this Glow festival before, got to know something new. It looks like fun and would love to visit Eindhoven someday!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pity I didn't know about this festival! I have a very good connection to Katowice from Eindhoven, however, I have never been there. These illuminated buildings look amazing. Well maybe next time.
ReplyDeleteSounds amazing! This festival looks so wonderful and pictures are really beautiful. I would love to plan my visit to Eindhaven for this amazing festival. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete