AHA! festival of lights illuminates the atmosphere of downtown cleveland

AHA! festival of lights illuminates the atmosphere of downtown cleveland
photo © frank lanza photography

the ‘AHA! festival‘ celebrates the resurgence of downtown cleveland in ohio through art and light over the course of three days. this is all made possible by LAND studio with support from cuyahoga arts & culture and cleveland public power.

a group of attendees of are illuminated by jen lewin’s ‘the pool’ installation
photo © frank lanza photography

the event includes the works of designers from various parts of the globe. the new york- and berlin-based studios of visual artist yvette mattern have provided their ‘global rainbow’, a project that infinitely extends rays into the sky. meanwhile, the ground is covered by colorado native jen lewin’s interactive installation ‘the pool’, where 100 custom LED platforms with concentric circles display dazzling color variations. the walls of the ‘public auditorium’, multi-purpose performing arts facility, are dressed in a multimedia projection called ‘transformations’ by obscura digital and mexican architect ivan juarez’s ‘drawing lines’ sculpture has been embedded into the urban fabric.

on thursday, august 7, AHA! hosted a free pecha kucha event
photo © frank lanza photography

public participation gatherings are also an important part of the exhibition’s impact. on the first day, pecha kucha attracted an estimated 2,000 attendees to the mall to watch nine artists and partners present their ideas. during the second day, believe in CLE hosted a large-scale yoga event that drew another estimated 2,000 participants, and bike CLE hosted a mass glow ride in which 200 cyclists converged on the mall from locations east and west of the cuyahoga river.

on friday, august 8, a free yoga event was offered with attendance estimated at 2000
photo © frank lanza photography

on thursday, august 7, AHA! hosted a free pecha kucha event
photo © frank lanza photography

bicyclists participating in a nighttime ‘glow ride’ pass obscura digital’s multimedia projection
photo © frank lanza photography

the ‘AHA! festival’ demonstrates what is possible in metropolis’ public spaces. the free event attracts a diverse cross-section of residents from northeast ohio and is aligned with the international gay games 9 co-hosted by cleveland and akron. it serves as an enthusiastic welcome to visitors and a celebration of the city’s momentum and potential for citizens.

visitors standing on the backlit, circular panels
photo © frank lanza photography 

the projects changed the atmosphere of the city
photo © frank lanza photography

bicyclists participating in a nighttime ‘glow ride’ pass obscura digital’s multimedia projection
photo © frank lanza photography

obscura digital’s contribution was projected on ‘public auditorium’
photo © frank lanza photography

AHA! ran from august 7-9 in downtown cleveland
photo © frank lanza photography 

an installation shining past cleveland’s ‘terminal tower’
photo © frank lanza photography

‘the global rainbow’, an installation by yvette mattern, adding to the cleveland skyline
photo © frank lanza photography

onlookers view two of the projects
photo © frank lanza photography

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.