Out and about A day with

A day with an artist from The Festival of Lights

By Julie

Published on 06/12/2024

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Festival of Lights, a few iconic works frome years past will be included in the trail once again, including the memorable snow globe by Lyon-based artist and architect Jacques Rival.

An architect by training, Jacques Rival is also a space designer, urban stage designer and artist. What is his overarching goal? “To fill myself and others with wonder, as a storyteller does. To move as many people as I can, regardless of their culture.”

While his work has taken him all over the world, he remains close to his local roots, in Lyon and Croix-Rousse in particular, with a strong attachment to the 8th of December: “it’s a magical festival for families and it holds many personal memories.” He is proud to have regularly contributed to the Festival of Lights since 2004, offering him plenty of chances to display his work on home turf: the balloons of ‘I Love Clouds’ on Place Bellecour; the amazing ‘Golden Hours’ clock on Place des Jacobins; and the dazzling ‘Big Tree’ on Place de la République. And he was of course the creator of the iconic snow globe of Bellecour, which framed the statue of Louis XIV standing on the square, for the 2007
Festival of Lights. This installation will be returning to celebrate this year’s anniversary edition.

Following several months of gestation and a 3D scale model, a team of experts (makers of inflatable structures, logistics professionals, scenery builders, production manager, etc.) will be assisting the
architect over the four days required to assemble the installation. “This is the beauty of this type of installation: there are lots of surprises and moments of pressure. It’s not a projection mapping show; we’re working on a monumental scale, so there is an element of risk, as well as various technologies and a complex system to set up. And we won’t get a chance to test it. Like any live performance, we’re in the beauty of the present moment.”

When the snow globe was first presented in 2007, a storm got the better of the installation, which had to be taken down on the first night. This created a lot of frustration for locals. They can rest assured that this year’s work will remain true to the original, “only with some adjustments to the form and richer lighting.”

Festival of Lights

Sound and light

Lieux divers - 69002 Lyon 2ème
04 72 10 30 30

www.fetedeslumieres.lyon.fr/fr