call: Light artwork for Leuven Town Hall (Belgium)
Deadline: 1 September 2026
Call for entries
Light artwork for Leuven Town Hall
The City of Leuven (Belgium), LOV2030 and Shift are looking for an artist (or artist collective) for a new, temporary light artwork on the scaffolding canvas of Leuven’s historic town hall, to be
presented during Wintertime. The work will be created through a participatory process with Shift from 8 December 2026 to 10 January 2027.
Who is issuing this call?
This open call is a collaboration between three partners:
1) City of Leuven
The 15th century Gothic town hall of Leuven has been closed since the autumn of 2025 for a thorough restoration. In 2029 it will reopen as the Town Hall
2) European House for Democracy
a shared meeting place for the people of Leuven and visitors, and one of the highlights of Leuven as European Capital of Culture 2030.
3) LOV2030
Leuven & Beyond
the title under which Leuven and the thirty municipalities of East Brabant were designated European Capital of Culture 2030 in 2025. Under the concept HumanNature, LOV2030 uses culture tobuild a warmer, more connected region, around the pillars Human, Nature and Innovation.
4) Shift
a digital and creative youth centre in the Schouwburg of Leuven, an initiative of Link in de Kabel in collaboration with 30CC.
Young people aged 12 to 25 experiment there free of charge with digital media and technology from 3D printing to VR and AI
with a strong focus on social inclusion and an accessible introduction to art and culture.
Context
From the summer of 2026, the Gothic Town Hall of Leuven will be covered in scaffolding for the major restoration works. The scaffolding will be fitted with a canvas bearing a realistic
photo print of the façade.
During Wintertime, the City of Leuven wants to temporarily light up the town hall with a light sculpture.
Wintertime (Wintertijd) is Leuven’s annual end of year festival, featuring among other things the Leuven Christmas Market, the illuminated Winter Garden in front of the town hall, a light art trail, concerts and the New Year’s drink as the closing event – an atmospheric winter experience for the people of Leuven and visitors.
The light artwork must offer artistic added value and be accessible. It must contribute to the warm, convivial atmosphere the city radiates during this period. In this way, it becomes an
accessible, visually powerful addition to the winter city experience. Alongside the final result, we attach equal importance to the process leading up to it:
through Shift, we actively involve young people in the development and realization of the work.
This is a one-off, temporary commission, developed specifically for the town hall.
For more info please download the PDF containing the complete call-regulations etc
FINAL_Opdrachtomschrijving_Stadhuis.pdf
