LUMA is all about light

February 2, 2023 5:20 AM

Every September, the City of Binghamton, New York hosts LUMA, a free projection arts festival. Warning: flashing lights. For two nights in September, buildings in downtown Binghamton are transformed through projected light. The results are dazzling. Buildings split, flip over, melt, are destroyed and rebuilt, and turn to gold.

Binghamton’s downtown is uniquely suited for these projections, as there are many fine old façades for artists to work with.

2022’s offerings came from all over the world, and included:
Joy Boy, a wild candy-colored ride
4U, a beautiful tribute created by Ukrainian artist Julia Shamsheieva working amid warfare
Gates of Eternity journeys through time and space
Divided “Will we ever see each other right?”
…and Festival favorite Kiss In Color, where love triumphs over an industrial dystopia.

posted by kinnakeet (7 comments total)

It is lovely to see this post!

I only attended the first LUMA festival and have since moved away from the Southern Tier, but it truly was a celebration of the city and the power of art to enrich community.

Binghamton has a lot to offer and it is stirring to see people who believe in it.
posted by Glomar response at 8:02 AM on February 2, 2023 [5 favorites]

Lord knows Binghamton needs something to cheer for. I kid of course, but it's good to see cool stuff happening in the smaller NY towns/cities. I grew up not far from there in the northern catskills and it was always fairly hard in decline as I remember it, but I'm guessing NYC prices and opportunity is pushing people back into some of the NY rust belt zones.
posted by Ferreous at 8:43 AM on February 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

I know people in the area like to put it/themselves down but there's a well-developed local music scene, some very good food, excellent scenery with the best autumns I've ever seen, gorgeous rivers, a teensy but surprisingly functional airport, historic carousels (OK, it's possible I consider this more of a plus than the average person does), an R1 university that was basically unknown outside the region a decade ago, nowhere near as much snow as Rochester or Buffalo (and with A+ plowing/road-clearing), multiple theatre companies, and a ton of cool stuff within a 1-4 hour drive, including Ithaca, the Corning Museum of Glass, and NYC.

And LUMA! It seems so random, yet here it is.

[subliminal message begins here]
come to Binghamton, the houses are still fairly inexpensive and there are tons of fabulous commercial buildings with low rent + a need for more diverse dining etc. and support for various entrepreneurial enterprises
[what subliminal message, I don't know what you're talking about]
posted by wintersweet at 8:52 AM on February 2, 2023 [10 favorites]

and Festival favorite Kiss In Color

I start watching this and I'm thinking, my comment will be, "holy cow, what did I just see," and then it hits the ~3:30 mark and I'm thinking "HOLY COW WHAT DID I JUST SEE!"

thanks, Kinnakeet, super post. Now going on to the other videos.
posted by martin q blank at 8:54 AM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the post. LUMA is truly an amazing light show. It's fabulous to see the rejuvenation of downtown Binghamton, and if you want to be amazed, it's worth making a special trip to the Southern Tier. Really! The area has a remarkable variety of unusual things, free merry-go-rounds (I think there are seven) among them, and some really good restaurants.
posted by bluesky43 at 12:02 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

Also, thanks for posting these--I didn't see any good 2022 videos when I initially looked, and then they went on the list of all the other things I mean to get around to looking for one of these days and never do.
posted by wintersweet at 12:12 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

Looks very similar to Blink Cincinnati which has occurred every few years recently. But I'm jealous of Binghamton as they have done their event every year of late - apparently even during COVID.
posted by mikeinclifton at 3:02 AM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]