In the heart of downtown Salt Lake City, a first-of-its-kind festival featuring an emphasis on light as an art form brightened up the night sky.

Organized by the Utah Arts Alliance, ILLUMINATE Creative Arts and Tech Festival took place from Nov. 11-12 between the Main Library Square and Salt Lake City and County Building. It was not only meant to bring the community together but also highlight important topics around Utah’s culture and history.

“The festival is going very well,” said Utah Arts Alliance Executive Director, Derek Dyer. “We’re really excited to see how many people came out even though it’s historically cold. We’ve never had this cold. So, I’m very excited to see that the thousands of people that have come out are enjoying it.”

Bright Ideas

Walking into the festival, a giant set of illuminated teeth whiz past the closed-off portion of 200 E. A pink praying mantis embellished with flowers towers over the throng of people walking through the festival grounds. A large, fuzzy mammoth creature, straight out of the pages of a Dr. Seuss book, also wanders about.

Along with art installations are food, drink and jewelry vendors, all of them local. Five Wives Vodka, a local vodka brewer that uses Utah’s own mountain spring water, were among the vendors in attendance.

The street is alive with eye-catching strange and wonderful light pieces, while the sounds of music from all over the festival captivate ears. The air is permeated with the sound of drums from Kenshin Taiko Drum, a local band focusing on the traditional Japanese style of drum music.

“I love what they do,” said Dyer. “I’ve loved them for years. And it was great to see them incorporate light into their performance.”

Closer to the library, performers from Weeb Streets, a local J-Pop-focused group, sing and dance for the kids in attendance. Each member is energetic and lively despite the near-freezing temperatures.

In addition to the musical acts from the human performers, a robot adorned in flashing LED lights blasts music and dances around for a circle of people who illuminate it with cell phone flashlights.

“That’s a robot that came to entertain folks, he’s really fun,” said Dyer. “He will sing to you and dance with you. He’s been here both nights, he’s a big hit.”

Highlighting Important Issues

Art for art’s sake is certainly a staple of the festival, but some of the pieces also connect to important issues.

In a quieter part of the festival stands a piece along the Leonardo Museum. The piece depicts 21 mannequin torsos in backpacks with bold statements projected across them. On each torso are the names of children along with quotes from their respective loved ones remembering who they were.

It’s a tribute to the lives lost in the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, but also a damning condemnation of the insultingly lackluster response from the Uvalde Police Department. 

“What does it look like for us, as a national community, to offer our kids more?” said artist Sandeigh Kennedy in a statement written on the piece. “Where does healing show up now and where might we be failing to intervene? I’m reminded so often that, so often, the shooters in these stats [multiple statistics about gun violence are projected around the piece] are also just kids. The children’s bodies represented here have no way to run and no way to defend themselves: that’s our job.”

Projected on the side of the Salt Lake City and County Building are images of Utah’s natural landscape and an occasional inclusion of a Native American woman turning to survey the viewer. 

A massive wasp made of LED lights shines brightly next to the Main Library with a plaque that reads: “Pollen Power!”

“These issues that are very important need to be addressed,” said Dyer. “These are things that are woven throughout the festival. So, it’s not just a pretty light show. There is some commentary that the artists are doing to address some of those issues.”

Lighting the Future

Despite the cold, this festival’s first outing was a smash hit. If you missed it this year, don’t worry as it will likely return next year with even more eye-catching installations and various vendors. With any luck, the singing robot will make an encore performance.

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