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Mons en Lumières 2025: Between Earth and Sky

After the success of the first edition, Mons en Lumières, the largest light festival in Wallonia, returns for a dazzling second edition! The historic center of Mons will be illuminated for two weekends, from January 30 to February 2 and February 6 to 9, 2025, from 7 PM to midnight.

For the 2025 edition, Mons en Lumières explores the theme “Between Earth and Sky.” This light journey through Mons’ historic heart highlights the natural and celestial elements that fill the city. Around twenty artistic installations, created by contemporary artists, fuse vegetation, animals, stars, and the night sky to create a magical, immersive atmosphere along a 3 km route through Mons’ city center.

The festival continues its annual thematic approach, emphasizing in 2025 a strong visual dimension anchored in the relationship between humanity, nature, and the universe. Tadashi Kawamata, the featured artist, will embody this theme through works that integrate nature into urban spaces, evoking concepts of refuge and connection with the natural world.

The festival invites visitors to dream and reflect on their relationship with the environment through a poetic dialogue between earth and sky.

Tadashi Kawamata

Tadashi Kawamata is a renowned Japanese artist, born in 1953 in Mikasa, on the island of Hokkaido. His work is distinguished by monumental, often ephemeral installations, typically made from recycled materials like wood, to transform public spaces and invite viewers to rethink their surroundings. Tadashi Kawamata studied at Tokyo University of the Arts and quickly gained international recognition, especially after his participation in the Venice Biennale in 1982 while he was still a student.

Through his works, Tadashi Kawamata explores themes such as urbanism, the memory of places, and the relationship between humans and their environment. His projects take place in various urban and natural contexts around the world, transforming buildings, parks, and public spaces into sites of contemplation. His installations, sometimes resembling perched cabins or interwoven wood structures, question the transient nature of architecture and underscore the fragility of nature amid urbanization.

Kawamata often works closely with local communities, emphasizing the participatory and social aspect of art. His unique approach blends poetry with social reflection, making each installation a dialogue between past and present and an invitation to reconnect with nature.

For Mons en Lumières, Tadashi Kawamata will explore themes of refuge, connection with nature, and escape from the modern world. By incorporating light into his works for Mons en Lumières, Kawamata will add a poetic and magical dimension, further strengthening the bond between urban life, natural habitats, and the starlit sky.