This edition of light art festival VONK explored the four natural elements through 17 immersive installations, navigating two last-minute site relocations due to protected wildlife.
Lotte curated the artistic route while as a company we contributed to the technical production.
Video: Vincent van den Brink -> watch the full aftermovie with audio here
Photo by Rene van den Brandt 2023
‘POP’ by Het Blauwe Uur. Photo by Vincent van den Brink 2023
Photo by Vincent van den Brink 2023
The 2023 edition of VONK served as a testament to our adaptability.
Originally planned for Fort Bij ’t Hemeltje, the project required an urgent shift when we discovered a protected badger family on-site, making the location unsuitable for a public festival.
We subsequently moved our preparations to Fort Honswijk, where our studio is based, only to discover that the site’s protected bat populations also prohibited an event of this scale.
Ultimately, we relocated the entire festival to Fort de Batterijen.
Despite these significant logistical hurdles, the venue proved to be an ideal professional partner.
Under artistic leader Cindy Belmon’s theme ‘Wij, de Aarde,’ Lotte curated 17 installations that engaged with the four fundamental elements: earth, water, fire, and air.
By integrating art directly into the fort’s historical architecture and surrounding landscape, we maintained the focus on our deep connection to the environment.
The festival successfully welcomed nearly 5,000 visitors who experienced both the light art route and a bespoke spoken-word audio tour.
For us, VONK 2023 remains a defining moment in our studio’s history.
It demonstrated how our small team navigates complex site-specific constraints while keeping the creative vision intact.
We bridged the gap between the unpredictability of nature and the technical demands of a large-scale festival, ensuring that the visitor experience remained seamless, even after two location changes.
Photo by Vincent van den Brink 2023