Vincennes, Château de Lumières: a digital art festival in a historic setting, final days

This autumn, a new digital art festival is coming to the gates of Paris. The venue is the charming town of Vincennes, on line 1 of the Paris metro. Located on the edge of the eponymous wood, this lively Val-de-Marne commune is best known for its emblematic monument: the Château de Vincennes. It is at the heart of this artistic event, which takes place from October 18 to November 2, 2024.

Vincennes, Château de Lumières is the name of this luminous festival showcasingdigital art in Vincennes. For 12 evenings, from 6.30pm to 11pm, the town becomes an artistic stage. Enthusiasts and the curious are invited to stroll among the works of digital art, some of them interactive.

"Entering the Château from the Avenue de Paris, at the foot of the metro station, visitors are presented with 18 monumental works. This walk along a luminous path offers an initial immersion, guiding the public through a journey where each installation tells a story, awakens an emotion, questions our relationship to time and space." That's how we're described the experience we can expect. This 11-stage itinerary includes creations by Jérémie Bellot, artistic director of the edition, including Unfold, Le Miroir de l'âme and Bouncing light. The cast also includes Atelier Sisu and Nicolas Paolozzi , with their respective works Evanescent and Resonance. We appreciate the contrast of seeing this historic site invested with contemporary art.

The high point of the show is the royal courtyard of the Château de Vincennes, where a monumental projection is projected onto the façade of the historic monument in a twenty-minute sound and light show entitled"Voyage à travers les siècles" (Journey through the centuries). This is when André Manoukian, in tandem with Ena Eno, composes the soundtrack to the story of the château. This is both an artistic and educational interpretation of the history of the Château de Vincennes, blending the story of an eventful past with sequences of more contemporary contemplation.

In all, more than fifteen international artists await us: Josselin Fouché (France), Nicolas Paolozzi (France), Hyojung Seo (South Korea), Jérémie Bellot (France), Sabrina Ratté (Canada), Rank SSS (Algeria), Victoria Fard (Canada), Jenny Jiang (USA), Zoé Osborne (Barbados / Canada), Hanne-Lizé (South Africa), Diana Lynn Vandermeulen (Canada), Sky Goodman (United States), Artpoint / Julie Corver and Laurie Bonin (France), Super idée / Nicolas D'Ascenzio (France), Atelier Sisu (Australia), Studio Daao / Anne Sophie Acomat (France).

In detail, the course of the first part preceding the monumental projection at this promising event is as follows:

Stage 1: Rayonnement Liminal by Josselin Fouché
"This luminous animation is a unique experience in which light itself becomes a constantly evolving structure. Playing with volumes, the laser highlights the lines and illustrates the nobility of the gateway to the Château de Vincennes. "

Stage 2: Evanescent by Atelier Sisu
"Evanescent is an immersive architectural work by Renzo B. Larriviere and Zara Pasfield ofAtelier Sisu. Larriviere and Zara Pasfield of Atelier Sisu. These luminous inflatable spheres evoking giant soap bubbles form an enchanting installation that recalls fragility and ephemerality while echoing the timeless history of the Château de Vincennes."

Stage 3: Squarecoded by Ses Hyo-Jung
"SquareCoded features several video-projected animations. The artist uses coded algorithms to generate images and shapes. This approach enables him to develop unique, dynamic visual forms that can evoke different emotions."

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Stage 4: Gravity by Jérémie Bellot
"The Gravity installation emits light waves from a central point, propagating in concentric circles. These luminous spheres, pulsing like a heartbeat, recall the ceaseless rhythm of history, sometimes glorious, sometimes tragic, its discoveries and its mysteries."

Stage 5: Virtualités Augmentées by Sabrina Ratté, Rank SSS, Victoria Fard, Jenny Jiang, Zoé Osborne, Hanne-Lizé, Diana Lynn Vandermeulen, Sky Goodman
"An exhibition within an exhibition featuring 8 female artists brought together in an interactive installation proposed by Artpoint (as guest curator). Virtualités augmentées presents a selection of iconic works by leading international digital artists."

Stage 6: Lotus by Nicolas Paolozzi
"Nicolas Paolozzi's emblematic Lotus will be presented at the Château de Vincennes. The light implanted on the plant's structure is diffused by its large leaves, creating a relaxing, evolving atmosphere. The dimensions of the work invert the relationship of scale: here, man is the size of an insect immersed in immense nature."

Stage 7: Nuage de points by Jérémie Bellot
"Nuage de Points is an original creation by Jérémie Bellot, a holographic cube composed of 3,000 luminous stars. Visitors are invited to walk through the work for a completely immersive experience."

Stage 8: Helicoled by studio Super Idée and Cadillac
"The Helicoled installation is a light generator inspired by the flying propeller from the 1985 Toys in Space program. It consists of a 3 to 4-metre mast around which flexible neon lights are arranged in a circle; cranks will allow the audience to control the neon lights at the top of the mast according to the force exerted on them."

Stage 9: Bouncing Lights by Jérémie Bellot
"Innovative digital art installation, combining the poetry of light with an immersive interactive experience. Within this artistic creation, luminous disks equipped with motion sensors react in real time to the audience's interactions, giving rise to a unique and captivating light ballet."

Stage 10: Nexus Dream by Anne-Sophie Acomat of Studio DAAO
"The Nexus Dream light installation is a 30-meter-diameter inflatable structure, as gigantic as it is aerial, which breathes thanks to spotlights that illuminate it from within."

Stage 11: Lune Dichroïde V2 by Jérémie Bellot
"Lune Dichroïque is a geode, whose light plays like a stained-glass window. This allegory reminds us that, just as the moon doesn't emit its own light but reflects that of the sun, we too are dichroic beings: we transform ourselves in response to our environment and to others."

The town of Vincennes also specifies that the event has been designed to limit the carbon footprint of this artistic event organized jointly with the Centre des Monuments Nationaux and the Service historique de la défense des Armées: "The lighting will be LED and the video projectors laser technology for controlled energy consumption. On-site catering stands will feature organic and local produce".