Water Light Festival 2026

During the Water Light Festival ©, Brixen becomes a place of transition – between day and night, lightness and depth, wonder and reflection. Here, art is free to move,
challenge, delight and raise questions.

Every two years in May, Brixen turns into a place to experience. Local, national and international artists transform the town into a luminous open-air gallery. This year, their works lead visitors to exceptional locations: the Schenoni barracks, the Women’s Church, the Hofburg, the Music School and the Fortress Franzensfeste.
Places usually closed or only partially accessible are opened especially for the festival and reimagined. The works are both accessible and multi-layered: they move, surprise, question and leave room for personal interpretation.

In 2026, the Water Light Festival becomes part of IMAGINE PEACE, a project co-funded by the European Union that connects five light festivals:

• the Brixen Water Light Festival (Italy),
• the Copenhagen Light Festival (Denmark),
• the Essen Light Festival (Germany),
• Fjord Oslo (Norway)
• and the Visualia Festival of Light (Pula,
  Croatia).

A visible expression of exchange, dialogue and connection – right in the heart of
public space.

A Mesa Usc is a sound and light installation that reflects on the concept of the political border. Here, music is experienced both as a source of comfort and, at the same time, as a landscape. At the heart of the work lies women’s oral history: the traditions of folk singing reveal their potential to preserve, renegotiate and develop cultural identities in border regions. Building on recordings made in Friuli Venezia Giulia — featuring the Anutis quartet, the Stu Ledi choir and the Pashto singers Ismail Swati and Maryam Rashid — the soundscape is enriched by new contributions from South Tyrol: Laura Willeit, Daniela Willeit and Anita Obwegs. The site-specific installation builds upon the work Sot Glas, which brings voices and memories to life within a specific space.

Concept: Ana Shametaj, Giuditta Vendrame
Production: Kokoschka Revival
Sound Artist: Renato Rinaldi
Lighting Design: Giulio Olivero
Additional Lighting Design: Nicolò Brunetto
Technical Director: Fabio Brusadin
Scientific Advisors: Barbara Kostner, Paolo Vinari, Department of Folk Music in Bolzano