Light, illusion and art: visual experiences across the country

Playing with natural light, lamplight and reflective surfaces has a tradition of hundreds, if not thousands, of years in the arts - starts Tamás Zádor, a member of the internationally recognized group of light artists called Kiégő Izzók (Blown Bulbs). From cave shadow plays to Indonesian candlelight performances to the work of Victor Vasarely, we find plenty of examples of how people push the boundaries of visuality. Like brush, paper and charcoal, light is also a medium, and one of the most natural artistic tools. It is so much a part of our everyday lives that we often do not even think about the visual experiences it can bring to life.

Playing with light goes back a long time, light art really began to develop in the 20th century thanks to the development of technology. Among other things, the laser and holographic representation appeared, which opened up new horizons in light art. Now as an independent fine art discipline, light festivals have created a hybrid cultural environment. As Tamás Zádor puts it: in recent years and decades, there has been a special interest in light as an expressive tool - nowadays at most domestic festivals we can run into some sort of projection, light painting or unique light installation during the music programmes.

With the arrival of good weather, in several European towns, we can immerse ourselves in outdoor cultural and artistic events where the focus is on light. Lyon, Amsterdam, Leuven, London, Ghent: just a few cities with outstanding light festivals - but you do not have to travel beyond the border of the country to enjoy the previously mentioned hypnotic experiences. Pécs hosts the only light festival in our country, where not only the professional group interested in light art moves, but also the whole country. According to Tamás Zádor, it was not by chance that Pécs became the home of this famous event: in this city, for decades, the range dealing with light art and projection has been dominant. In addition to professional knowledge, the historic city centre is also a perfect "set" for a programme of a similar calibre.

For the eighth time, almost a hundred thousand people - professionals and interested parties - come to the county seat of Baranya to admire the works of the world's outstanding light artists. With the professional coordination of Kiégő Izzók, the three-dimensional, building-specific light works on the facade of the Pécs Cathedral come to life at the international Zsolnay Light Art light painting competition.

Although the competition works are undoubtedly one of the biggest attractions of the event, it is worth walking along the Path of Light, which provides a phenomenal experience every year. The stations of the light ring-road that encompass the city centre of Pécs twist our heads one by one and in addition, we can also experience the joy of creative freedom at many locations.

Although there is currently only one light festival in Hungary, you do not necessarily have to travel to Pécs for the visual experience (although it is very worthwhile!). Planetariums and star parks are also excellent locations. In the Star Park in Zselic you can enjoy the absence of light best: due to the area's low light pollution, it is one of the best places in the country to observe the Milky Way or the lesser-known zodiacal light. Within the framework of the programmes, we can also witness star clusters, galaxies and fainter nebulae.

The Observatory of Bükk also offers similarly great programmes. What is more, here we can not only enjoy the benefits of darkness, as we can even observe the Sun more closely with the help of a world-class telescope. It is interesting that thanks to this unique instrument, we can observe sunspots and solar flares in a way that we could never see with the naked eye. In the planetarium of the observatory, you can also have "ethereal" experiences, here you can choose from the 3D films in accordance with the current programme, which can be enjoyed in outstanding quality projected on the 8-meter-diameter cupola above your head.