Free buses that run in the Eindhoven region in the evening during the week of GLOW. It is one of the many fervent wishes of GLOW director Ronald Ramakers. Ramakers has grown the festival enormously over the past ten years, but this week is his last as director of the light art festival.
With a big smile on his face, he pressed the button to open GLOW on Saturday. That was the tenth and last time for Ramakers. The director brought about many changes during his years at the helm of GLOW.
In its early days, works by artists from abroad were mainly purchased and exhibited. That still happens, but according to him there are far fewer of them. “We started working with artists from the region. You should never be complacent and say that we already have it all here. You also have to stimulate from outside every now and then.”
Ramakers literally brought the festival into the region. In addition to Eindhoven, the festival now also takes place in Helmond, Oirschot, Best, Veldhoven and Lieshout. “In those places, their own identity is starting to emerge – such as in Best, where many things are made with amateur associations. You then sit in the village with the community. What is the character of the village? We even have artists who participate in the work of art in their own village.”
The very first GLOW had fifteen light artworks, but that number has now grown to 87, including the region. Director Ramakers hopes that this expansion will provide more options, such as free buses. “That is not only fun, but it connects everything with everything. Eindhoven and the region then become one whole during GLOW. Free transport is still beyond our control, but as GLOW you can always launch it as a wish.”
“There are people who never look at art.”
Ramakers has another idea that he has given to entrepreneurs in the region: arrange a multi-day tour through the region. “You start with GLOW Oirschot, where you have a nice meal in the evening and stay overnight. The next day you walk to Lieshout, for example, and then you visit GLOW there. Ultimately you end up in Eindhoven. There is so much you can do with such a region.”
The festival is free and it should remain that way, Ramakers believes. “I think that accessibility is very important. There are people who never go to see art. These groups also come to see GLOW. GLOW makes happy people. Having happy people in your city and in your region is the essence of living together.”
Another change from Ramakers’ period: GLOW received a GLOW Academy for students in 2018. There they receive lessons in light art. Some of the works of these students will ultimately be on display during GLOW. “GLOW has experienced a lot of growth over the past ten years. That is also the reason that I now have to hand over the baton as director, because you now have to enter the next ten years with a different energy.”
Ramakers knows the festival inside and out. He does have a tip for visitors: walk in the opposite direction. “If you walk the route the other way around, you see how people talk to each other. How they don’t look, how they do look, how they drink a drink. I really enjoy people. That’s always the greatest pleasure for me. To walk around during the week and see how everyone enjoys each other.”
GLOW was founded in 2006 because the municipality of Eindhoven wanted to revive the image of Eindhoven as ‘the City of Light’. The municipal council became a member of LUCI. That is an international network of cities. It deals with urban lighting. The LUCI community was going to visit Eindhoven and therefore something had to be organized.
