Spectacular light festival makes city shine

Jerusalem is all aglow this week. The 8th annual International Jerusalem Festival of Lights runs through June 2nd and has transformed this historic city into an interactive art installation.

From the illumination of architecture to light statues, the festival is a public, family-oriented celebration that draws some quarter million people each year. This year, artists from ten different countries created more than 30 installations situated along four separate routes. From The Grapevine took a stroll along all four as the festival got underway.

These illuminated cars greet visitors near the New Gate entrance of the Old City. (Photo: Zach Pontz)

The Israeli artist Elian Kaczka -Lula created five spectacular sculptures entirely of corrugated cardboard which come to life when a video designed and animated by fellow Israeli multimedia artist Yossi Jimmy is projected on them. (Photo: Zach Pontz)
An illuminated five-person circus orchestra performs at one of the stops along the White Trail. Here, an audience member takes the opportunity to have a picture taken with the performers. (Photo: Zach Pontz)
A team of Latvian artists created a wondrous water fountain installation full of color — and no small amount of residual wetness. (Photo: Zach Pontz)
Through video and animation technology, several visual stories are projected onto the Damascus Gate. (Photo: Zach Pontz)

These halos line a passageway that runs along one of the routes. (Photo: Zach Pontz)
Ivo Schoofs, an artist and technical engineer from The Netherlands, created a fire tornado to wow audiences. (Photo: Zach Pontz)
A live opera performance greets visitors at one of the stops along the Mount Zion trail route. (Photo: Zach Pontz)
The Gan HaTkuma Archaeological ruins are the backdrop for German artist Philipp Artus's animation FLORA. (Photo: Zach Pontz)
Lights line the cobblestone alleyways of Jerusalem's Old City, guiding visitors from one installation to the next. (Photo: Zach Pontz)
Artists Gloria Ronchi and Claudio Benghi of Italy created these handcrafted origami, which encase LED lights. (Photo: Zach Pontz)
Olivia d’Aboville of the Philippines created these 90 differently sized, giant dandelions made of some 9,000 recycled water bottles. (Photo: Zach Pontz)