Biela Noc Košice 2024: A Night of Light and Art | Photo Reportage

What Biela Noc is All About

White Night, Biela Noc, or Nuit Blanche is an annual art festival with origins in France. The event typically spans one night, sometimes two, offering a chance to explore contemporary art. National and international artists showcase their work in streets, galleries, museums, cinemas, and theaters. Sometimes, the art is installed on common buildings like bridges, hotels, and company buildings (Slovak Radio).

It all started in Paris in 2002 on October 5th. It slowly spread worldwide to New York, Toronto, and Montreal. Other cities like Rome, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Miami, and many more soon followed. But there had been some predecessors in the past.

In 1989 Helsinky festival came with the Night of the Arts annual event. The festival usually happens in many major cities in Finland. Many art events are happening in different places in each town. The festival starts at 6 pm or later and lasts until midnight but sometimes later until early morning.

The same conditions apply to the Nuit Blanche festival, which borrows a lot of inspiration from it. Some artworks are free of charge, some are accessible when you buy a festival pass.

The festival began in Košice, Slovakia. After five successful years, it was introduced in the capital city, Bratislava.

Biela Noc Košice Festival tries to support contemporary art and art forms to a broader audience. Educate people, suport local turism. It also aims to inspire the creation of high-quality artworks that are accessible and engaging for children.

Key Highlights of the Biela Noc Košice 2024

8 of 22 artworks were free to access. Many concentrated in the historical center near the St. Elizabeth Gothic Cathedral. Near its door from the west on Alžbetina Street were monumental objects, deformed diamonds, from Slovak painter Marek Kvetan.

In the south, in the garden near the church, were white and black photographs made into 3D objects from Dorota Sadovská and her cycle called Open Mind. The third public artwork, whose author is also Slovak national, was the interactive object named Modrá Nádej II. by sculptor Laco Sabo.

As always, the fountain near the Gothic cathedral draws a crowd—and some artists are no exception. This year, duo Erik Kuzma and Samuel Schnelly set up an interactive installation that mixes water, light, and video. The visitor was able to give the fountain instructions through the screen and generate a dynamic and volatile composition.

Alongside installations and interactive mapping, some of the paid events included screenings of animated films for adults and art exhibitions.

One of the standout installations was the light space created by Japanese artist Yasuhiko Chida. Visitors entered a dark room, gradually walking toward the other side, where a minimalist structure slowly emerged and enveloped them. The experience was both immersive and transformative, leaving a lasting positive impression.

The video installation from Boris Vítazek in Tabačka Kulturfabrik seemed to disgust some visitors. The video depicts two figures staring at their phones. As the scene progresses, they mingle with their gadgets until they vanish.

The project called Outside Context Problem, accessible for 16+ was inspired by the clash of people with the internet and AI. The artwork addresses today’s hard-to-grasp changes and certain paradigm shifts where we lack new context and place for the latest AI technologies and their impact on our lives and relationships.

Cultural Strike

Due to recent political changes in Slovakia affecting many art institutions and artists’ livelihoods, the festival participated in cultural strike interventions. From Friday to Sunday during Biela Noc Košice 2024, the city lit up with interactive installations and laser mappings.

As part of the festival, mobile projections from a specially modified bicycle displayed strike logos on cultural institutions participating in the strike. These projections also targeted outdoor installations as a disruptive element, drawing attention to the ongoing strike alert.

You can explore the rest of the photos from Biela Noc here, and don’t forget to check out my previous post about the street art festival Creative Streets in Košice!