Next winter, Lux Helsinki will be held over eight days, from 30 December 2026 to 6 January 2027. Starting on the day before New Year’s Eve, the festival will invite people to ring in the New Year with light art for the first time. Details about the next Lux Helsinki will be announced at the end of this year.
Snow enhanced the impact of the artworks
This year’s festival featured 20 installations across the city, including Kansalaistori Square, Hietalahti Market Square, the Old Church Park and Kanneltalo. In addition, light art inspired by this year’s Stop time! theme was experienced for the first time in as many as ten downtown art galleries.
“Lux lit up the city for six wintry days. It was a joy to see how we succeeded in drawing large crowds to the streets to enjoy light art. The event brought joy and brightness to both locals and visitors,” says Lux Helsinki’s Executive Producer Annika Pråhl, expressing her thanks to the audience, artists, partners and all collaborators for a successful festival.
During the six-day event, around 450,000 people attended. The largest crowds were seen on the weekend. This year, the crisp winter weather allowed audiences to enjoy the light art in a snowy setting that beautifully enhanced the colours and atmosphere of the artworks. Installations designed especially for children provided unique artistic experiences alongside snow play – for example, at Lasipalatsi Square, sledding down the snow-covered mounds became part of Alexander Salvesen’s multisensory The Last Dance installation.
Among the audience favourites were Finnish artist Max Lapinsuo-Sylwén’s striking projection work Chapters at Hietalahti Market Square, and British artist Steve Thompson’s atmospheric Mycelium Network – a fibre-optic installation inspired by fungal root systems, located in the Old Church Park.
Light art to remain permanently in the cityscape
Lux Helsinki brings light art into the everyday lives of Helsinki residents, now also year-round. As a result of collaboration with the City of Helsinki’s Urban Environment Division, two artworks from the 2025 festival will become permanent features in the cityscape: Peilipöllö (Bubo Speculus) II by Jere Suontausta, to be installed near the Kannelmäki railway station, and Un-Reel Access by the British Kappa collective, which will be placed on Sofiankatu. From this year’s festival, Sébastien Lefèvre’s Soleil nuit Albireo will remain on display at Hietalahti Market Square to delight residents – a work that sparkles with light and colour, reflecting the changing seasons and times of day. All installations will be set up during the spring.
Juha Rouhikoski, Artistic Director of Lux Helsinki, explains that when selecting permanent works, it must be borne in mind that there are also very bright seasons in Finland; the works must, therefore, be thought-provoking and eye-catching even on summer days. Rouhikoski is delighted, as the installation of permanent light works in public spaces is a big achievement in the field of light art, even on a global scale.
