LUNA Fête is a visionary initiative created by the Arts Council New Orleans to demonstrate the power of art to transform communities. This free and public festival of light, art, and technology will take place Thursday, December 16, through Sunday, December 19, from 6 to 10 p.m. nightly at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Pedestrian Park on Convention Center Boulevard.
Since its 2014 inception, LUNA Fête has presented some of the top light and projection-based artists in the world, while simultaneously providing training to local artists to advance their capabilities to create large-scale and interactive art animated with light. More than 200 New Orleans artists and 60 youth have advanced their technical and artistic skills through this unique educational opportunity.
This year, the main projection mapping show is created by internationally award-winning artist Bart Kresa, known for creating Shogyo Mujo at Burning Man and an installation for the premiere of the seventh season of HBO’s Game of Thrones at Disney Hall in Los Angeles. The New Orleans installation will animate the Convention Center’s Hall D facade with a seven-minute projection highlighting the “beauty and fragility of our planet,” according to a press release.
Projections will begin at the top of each hour and continue throughout the evening. The last show will begin at 10 p.m.
Most of the installations set up during the festival are temporary. However, this year, visitors can also explore three new permanent light-based installations created by world-caliber artists commissioned by the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center for the Pedestrian Park: “Heart Full of Rhythm” by New Orleans artist Rontherin Ratliff, “Alluvial Mirror” by Patrick Marold and “contemplate-congregate” by Erwin Redl.
Other highlights of the 2021 event are an immersive projection experience by The Krewe of Vaporwave which will celebrate the cosmic universe, food and drink vendors, and a nightly market of wares by local artists.
For more information, visit lunafete.com.
