Georgetown Imitates France with Fete des Lumieres

This holiday season, Georgetown gets all aglow, inviting four international artists to shine bright — using lights as their medium for public art displays in a week-long festival inspired by the world-renowned Fete des Lumieres, or Festival of Lights, in Lyon, France.

The Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with Alliance Francaise, Art Soiree Productions, SPAIN Arts & Culture, The JBG Companies, Wallonie-Bruxelles International and EDF (Electricite de France) will sponsor the light installations that will be positioned in several locations in Georgetown.

Fete des Lumieres Georgetown coincides with the second annual Georgetown Holiday Window Competition, where a variety of neighborhood merchants create holiday-themed window displays using only four different materials. This year’s competition will add lights as a fifth element in honor of the week-long festival.

“Georgetown is a premiere destination for the holidays, and year-round, with more than 450 restaurants, shops, galleries and other merchants,” according to Joe Sternlieb, Georgetown BID CEO. “We are thrilled that Fete des Lumieres will make its US debut in Georgetown, and this is a tremendous opportunity to showcase public art in Georgetown’s public spaces.”

Featured artists and installations, previously on display at the Lyon festival, include Luisa Alvarez presenting Cuidad Habitad, a collection of lit mannequins in whimsical poses. Alvarez will also exhibit Floating Lights, an interactive light wall.   On December 13 and 14 only, a duo of artists known as Theoriz Crew will create Larsen 3G, a collection of interactive video projections, and Chloe Yaiche will present Zodiac, an artistic display of constellations inspired by NASA satellite imagery.

Throughout the week, Art Soiree, local artists and merchants will host individual festival events, parties and promotions.

*Lead images from the Fete des Lumieres, Lyon first published on www.lesitedelevenementiel.com