Downtown Vancouver’s favourite free light event is back for its 16th year, and continues to be a fantastic way to kick off the holiday season. The pieces are not specifically holiday related, but it does remind us that even though it maybe be darker out earlier, the silver lining is that the lights shine brighter that way.
The event runs from Thursday November 13th to Sunday November 16th, 2025. Compared to previous years it has been condense, and only spread across 3 different locations. Each site with several art installations, creating pockets for spectators to gather at. This falls in line well with this year’s theme of “unity: celebrating connection, community, and creativity through light”.
This year I was chosen as the ambassador for Lumière, not only hosting the media and VIPs during the opening day launch, but invited to return nightly to explore the food and drinks that surround the neighbourhood that these lights are featured in.
I was given a script to read through and share. Although, oddly enough, everything I read, even through they were the artist’s own description, were not what I expected and not what I saw in person. I am guessing this is because I like the more literal pieces as apposed to the abstract themes.
Lumière is a series of public artworks inspired by light and artistic expression. It includes various small and large-scale illuminated artworks and light-based projections, accompanied by dynamic performances that enliven downtown Vancouver this weekend.
Our tour bus took us around, to visit each from the Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza and Robson Square, to Gastown’s Blood Alley, and 1800 Davie and Jim Deva Plaza on the West End.
I will be sharing the script I read from, from this tour, as written, minus my personal flair; and honestly it does not do the pieces justice. It is best to see and experience them, in person, yourself; especially as it is free to do so.
Our first stop was the West End, where “Memories of Colour” by Melanie Lazelle is located by the ionic laughing statues, across from English Bay. This is by “The Wilder Experience”. It is a glowing coral reef that reminds us to care for our oceans.
Nearby, at Jim Deva Plaza, we saw “Infinite Fire Lounge” by “Fiction Factory Props”. This a captivating light and heat installation where real flames reflect infinitely across mirrored panels.
More affectionately referred to as the “pole dancing one”, “DecaDance by “The Egg Arts Society” transforms mirrored walls into a spinning ten-sided dance of light and reflection.
Right beside it is “Recycled Reflections” by Will Donaldson. This sculpture gives new life to salvaged mirrors, proving sustainability can shine.
For something hands-on, attendees could visit l the Crafting Station hosted by “MaddlesMade”, where they can make their own mini kaleidoscope using beads and shiny bits. However, it was mostly children in attendance, and I was too shy to partake as an adult.
“Saṃsāra” by Patrick Conlan is an exploration into the intertwined dimensions of our perceived reality and the illusions of the mind. An installation that creates depth through the narrow and endlessness within the finite.
Not available on tonight’s opening day, but instead Friday to Saturday is “Shutterbuggy”, a 1940s-style camera photo booth where you can snap a keepsake.
Our next tour stop was Downtown Vancouver, all around the Vancouver Art Gallery and at Robson Square. This area has the largest cluster of works, at over a dozen, blending technology, art, and storytelling.
“IRIDESCENCE” by Finnish artist Niko Tiainen is a shimmering, wave-inspired light projection that changes as people move through it.
“APOGEE” by “Chalk River Labs” from Australia features a massive projection sculpture with swings and vibrant visuals set to an 80s-inspired soundtrack.
Local artist Tyler Soon’s “Voxelite” surrounds you with 20,000 suspended LEDs that pulse with sound and movement. It is described as stepping inside a living, breathing light grid.
“Lux Memoriae” by Ari Lazer are glowing acrylic lanterns inspired by the Fraser River, connecting us through the waters that unite our communities.
At Robson Square, “Poems of Positivity” by “Orlosky Studio” turns community-submitted words into illuminated poems of hope.
“CONVERGE” by “Interim Collective” uses intersecting laser beams to symbolize how our paths connect.
“Painting Mirror” by French artist Maxime Touroute uses AI to reimagine portraits in the style of great painters, combining art history and modern technology.
“Qwasen” by Musqueam artist Debra Sparrow invites reflection on how light connects us to our ancestors, which is a luminous reminder that hope, faith, and love guide us all.
“Crystal Math” by “Foxlight Labs” are futuristic, sound-reactive sculptures, inspired by crystalline geometry.
Next to it is “Wish”, also by “ Foxlight Labs”, which is an oversized dandelion that blooms as you approach.
“Luxtriplicata” by Swedish artist Johan Fredrik Källman lets you spin prisms that scatter light into rainbows.
“Tide” by Sunny Liu, “CINEMAGIC Innovations”, and Janice Heu fuses motion capture, music, and projection, where the audience literally becomes part of the art.
“Moving Art” by “Eastside Arts Society” celebrates creative collaboration through dynamic, large-scale projections by local artists.
“Canopy” by “Tangible Interaction” floats above Robson Square with 3,000 lights simulating salmon swimming upstream and the Northern Lights.
Plus each night, the “Ember Arts Fire Society” lights up the plaza with their choreographed fire performances at 7:15, 8:00, and 8:45 p.m.
And our last stop of the evening was in Gastown’s Blood Alley Square, one of the most atmospheric locations at Lumière, surrounded by heritage buildings and cobblestone charm.
There, we saw “A Moment Together” by Ilya. This is an interactive multimedia piece where portraits and illustrations evolve in real time as more people join in. It is described as “a living canvas of connection.”
“All the Stars We Cannot See” by Gao Yujie and Megan Smith visualizes the tens of thousands of satellites orbiting Earth, revealing how our skies have become both connected and crowded.
“Visual Alchemy” by “Soluna Productions” invites you to use your gestures to literally paint with light, creating ever-changing dreamscapes of colour.
And “Star-Stuff: a way for the universe to know itself” by John Desnoyers-Stewart has people step into a surreal cosmic space where their body becomes a constellation.
In conclusion, the Lumière Festive is a fun and free way for the community to come together in joyful celebration of art and unity. Be sure to check it out this weekend, you won’t regret it.
