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Once again, the Broward Cultural Division was able to shine a light on the County’s arts scene. Literally, this time.
IGNITE Broward, a free, family-friendly art experience, illuminated locations in Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach. For five fabulous days and nights, visitors met at the intersection of art and technology and immersed themselves in site-specific artworks created by leading contemporary artists and designers working with interactive video and light.
Phillip Dunlap, director of Broward Cultural Division, sees the festival as an opportunity to bring art to the people. “Any way that government can provide low-cost or, in this case, free arts programming – make it accessible, make it inviting, make it exciting – is something we want to do,” he says.
“The ultimate goal is to create a signature event for the county, build it in a sort of grassroots community-based way that creates a solid foundation, so that it becomes a sustainable venture,” Dunlap says. “We want to grow it into something that’s unique to Broward County that isn’t about copying Miami or Palm Beach but about creating something that’s a niche for us.”
Whales swam across the façade of the Museum of Discovery & Science (MODS) in Fort Lauderdale. Across the street in Esplanade Park, light, sound and ever-changing images immersed visitors in a dreamlike landscape. And, in Dania Beach, a vast and undulating seascape populated by boats and larger-than-life characters on a never-ending journey surrounded viewers on all sides.
“It is about creating an experience for the viewer; something that they can live through their senses, with the visuals, sound and the vibrations it produces,” says Edison Peñafiel, a South Florida-based artist whose work was featured in this year’s event. “With projection mapping, the work can totally transform or make an intervention of a specific space, and the large scale or the 360-degree projection room allows for a better experience.”
Projection mapping transforms unexpected surfaces – like the exterior walls of a building – into a screen on which light and images are projected. The three-dimensional configuration of the surface becomes part of the interactive display.
“I like that a lot of the art sort of transports you to another space,” Dunlap says. “You can experience the art in a way that you can’t with a painting that hangs on a wall; [it] really immerses you in the art.”
The technology involved in these kinds of site-specific art experiences opens the door to new possibilities for artists, but it also comes with limitations. As Peñafiel explains, “These types of projects are a bit more difficult to present because of the space availability, equipment and budget, but the Broward Cultural Division is making this possible through the annual IGNITE Broward events.”
IGNITE Broward is the Cultural Division’s second annual light and art festival. This year’s event, which ran from Jan. 26 through 30, featured outdoor installations at MODS and Esplanade Park, which could be enjoyed at night. The creative firm MAD, the Cultural Division’s creative partner in bringing the festival to life, featured installations inside its building in Dania Beach during the day. All the installations were free to attend.
“The thing that was so compelling about creating the immersive space at MAD Arts for IGNITE is that it was constructed within the parameters of a finite physical room and yet the medium allowed us to create an environment where physical limits don’t exist, a world of infinite possibilities,” says Los Angeles-based Susan Narduli, who trained as both an artist and an architect. “The experience is both architectural and virtual, using state-of-the-art technologies for a seamless connection between physical space and content.”
IGNITE Broward coincided with Fort Lauderdale Art & Design Week, an annual event that celebrates local artists along with the city’s robust arts and cultural offerings.
“Miami has Art Basel,” Dunlap says, “and now, Broward has its own signature art event that we expect to grow even bigger next year.”
Presented by Broward Cultural Division, IGNITE Broward was produced by the creative solutions firm MAD. Additional support came from Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale, Visit Lauderdale, Museum of Discovery & Science and the City of Fort Lauderdale.