The must-sees of the Luz BCN festival 2026

BarcelonaThe Luz BCN festivalThe 15th edition of the Festival of Light takes place from February 6th to 8th with a program under the artistic direction of Maria Güell Ordis and featuring Czech curator Martin Posta as guest international curator. The festival will include around thirty proposals, featuring works by 12 national and international artists, as well as pieces by students from some 18 design and lighting schools in Barcelona. This will be the most "intentionally urban" edition of the festival, explains Güell, with the aim of "giving artists the opportunity to work in this hyper-functional environment" and encouraging citizens to reclaim public space through art. The festival hours are: Friday and Saturday, from 7:00 pm until midnight, and Sunday, from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm.

The must-see installations of the Luz BCN 2026 festival

Albert Serra's cinema in public space

One of the highlights of this edition will be the opportunity to see an unpublished work by Albert Serra, entitled Tonightprojected onto the facade of the DHUB. All that is known is that the film does not follow a conventional narrative, that Serra uses a "plastic" treatment of light, and that the night is "a source of mystery." "The result is of a haunting beauty that generates impossible realities, challenges perception, and invites the viewer to confront a type of imagery to which they are not accustomed, by activating a sensitivity that is often dormant," the film's presentation also states.

Toni Arola returns to the Torre Glòries Viewpoint

In her final year at the helm of the festival, Maria Güell wanted to revive some emblematic installations from her time there, including Laser facesToni Arola's installation, which was shown at the Mirador de la Torre Glòries in 2019, will be programmed for the third time at the festival. According to Arola, this work is a luminous homage to the film. Blade RunnerThus, the tower becomes the starting point for "a three-dimensional journey through the city using seven laser beams that interact with the surrounding architecture." It includes the projection of anonymous faces onto the building's facade.

A new space in Parc de les Glòries

Lighting designer Lola Solanilla inaugurates a new space at the festival with NoiseA large-scale installation transforms the Berta Cáceres Agora in Glòries Park into "a dreamlike cloud of over 1,500 square meters." This cloud will be formed by thousands of points of light levitating on thin, transparent metal rods, in a space open to different interpretations. The route will be circular, allowing the public to experience the artwork from various perspectives.

Laia Estruch, between performance and phantasmagoria

Barcelona-born artist Laia Estruch (1981) is known for her work in the field of performanceSculpture and voice work. This year's festival delves into a new field at the Muhba Oliva Artés with AucoThe installation utilizes the historical Pepper's Ghost effect, a stage technique developed from the 16th century onwards that generates optical illusions using mirrors and projections. "The installation investigates how to preserve the memory of an action performed live by a body," says the artist. "Through the combination of light, human voices, and a structure of translucent panels, Auco "It constructs a holographic presence that circulates freely through the space, questioning the modes of archiving and remembering ephemeral gestures."

The installations for the World Capital of Architecture

To mark the World Capital of Architecture, the festival unfolds throughout the city with an installation in a landmark building in each of the ten districts. Toni Mira and Quartet Brossa will present their choreographic project. Imaginary Stroll in the archaeological space of El Born, in Ciutat Vella, and the Sacude Danza company will present the show Where I look at myself and see myself in Eixample. In Sants-Montjuïc, Bayona Studio and MID Studio presentLxF, an immersive light and sound installation, along withLive set axlesA solo dance performance by Agnès Balfegó with live music. And in Horta-Guinardó, Penique Productions transforms the Casa de las Alturas with an inflatable installation. Rose heights.

From textile factories to digital factories

In the courtyard of the Can Framis Museum, artist Clàudia Raurell evokes the repetitive and sequential rhythm of old looms with a light installation that "transforms mechanical time into perceptual time," with the aim of "revealing the hidden rhythm of collective work." The public plays an active role, as the space transforms with each movement to "complete a tapestry where industrial memory, light, and human gesture converge in a single cadence."