In the days after Epiphany, local residents and visitors alike can marvel at light art throughout the centre of Helsinki. The light installations will be on display from Railway Square to the Kaivopuisto observatory. Individual works can also be found at the Mall of Tripla, Kannelmäki, Tapionpuisto in Espoo, and the Lux In event.
Lux Helsinki will bring light to everyday life and the long weekend from 8 to 12 January, 5pm to 10pm, while the Lux In event will run from 3pm to 10pm. For those who like to wake up early, Lux Morning will also be held on 9 to 10 January, when some of the light installations in the city centre will be illuminated from 7am to 9am.
Juha Rouhikoski, Artistic Director of Lux Helsinki, also has good news for those who have been hoping for years that light art would become a more permanent fixture in the city. Lux Helsinki and the City of Helsinki’s Urban Environment Division are kicking off a new kind of collaboration in which the City of Helsinki will acquire 1 to 2 light art installations each year to be placed in the city for a longer period of time for the enjoyment of local residents and visitors.
“This takes light art to a completely new level in Finland, but also internationally,” Rouhikoski says.
Rouhikoski sees the City of Helsinki’s decision as a sign of the growing appreciation of light art. The collaboration places light art in the same category as sculptures, memorials and other monuments typically seen in public spaces.
The theme is “Stories from Beyond”
The theme of the next Lux Helsinki is "Stories from Beyond". According to Rouhikoski, the theme manifests itself in the form of storytelling. The art installations convey a message from somewhere else, from elsewhere. The message can be about the future, the past, or even a dream.
“The theme emphasises imagination but also conveys messages about other realities,” Rouhikoski explains.
Rouhikoski encourages the audience to experience the light art at Lux Helsinki whichever way suits them best. For some, this will involve going through all the works, for others, lingering over a few selected installations. For the sake of clarity, the installations are numbered on the Lux map, but there is no specific route for the works.
In the name of peace
To remind people of the importance of peace, doves of peace projected onto the façade of Helsinki City Hall have been added to this year’s Lux Helsinki programme, the theme of which is “Stories from Beyond”. The projection, presented in the name of the Lux Collective, invites viewers to consider how even small actions can promote the cause of peace. The doves represent Helsinki’s support for Ukraine in defending its country from foreign aggression while also sending thoughts of peace to the whole world.
“Helsinki supports Ukraine and hopes that after winning the war it can rebuild its country and prosper. Helsinki continues to help our partner city of Dnipro,” comments Juhana Vartiainen, Mayor of Helsinki.
Another installation that promotes the cause of peace is Love and War by Danish artists Jakob Fälling and Ole Samsøe. The installation projects drawings onto the wall of the Architecture & Design Museum, the contents of which are based on interviews conducted in Ukraine in 2023 during the war.
Anyone walking through the Neitsytpuisto park during Lux Helsinki may hear the melancholic hoots of an owl. Jere Suontausta’s installation Mirrorowl (Bubo speculus) II stares at us on the verge of ecocatastrophe and mass extinction. The previous version of the installation featured at Lux Helsinki 2020 but sadly was later stolen.
The entertaining End Over End installation that got stuck in customs last year will be on display this year on Keskuskatu. The work of Studio Vertigo from the UK, the installation is a giant version of the nostalgic Slinky toy. Each spiral of the work is lit in turn, creating the illusion of flowing movement. The oversized scale of the Slinky makes the viewer feel literally smaller.
Plenty to see in Helsinki's iconic squares
There will be plenty to see in Helsinki's iconic squares during Lux Helsinki. The British collective illumaphonium will bring their installation Continuum, consisting of illuminated monoliths, to Railway Square, where the public can walk through the installation as if in a mirror labyrinth. The Wave by the Danish Vertigo collective in turn can be seen in the Senate Square, where the public can walk through the nearly hundred-metre-long light sculpture. Meanwhile, the Kasarmitori square will be the venue for the installation Under Pressure by Slovakian artist Pavol Truben, whose exercising light-headed figures comment on leaving recovery from work stress on the shoulders of the individual.
Finland's most famous light artist Kari Kola will restore the green to Esplanade Park with his installation Just Green. At the Kaivopuisto observatory, the installation Lines by Pekka Niittyvirta and Timo Aho illustrates how high the sea level could rise between 2100 and 2300. The Kaivopuisto park will also be the venue for Ilkka Paloniemi's Seismic Pulse, which will fill shine laser lights along the old railway line, which was decommissioned in 1980.
Lux Helsinki is a fully accessible and free event for the whole family. The festival is organised and produced by the Helsinki Events Foundation. The artistic director of Lux Helsinki is Juha Rouhikoski, whose team of curators also includes Mia Kivinen, Anna Nykyri and Kirsi Pitkänen.
The full programme and more information about the installations and artists at Lux Helsinki 2025 can be found on the Lux Helsinki website.
The news was published on December 3, 2024, and updated on January 8, 2025.