Inaugural Illuminate Art and Light Festival
College Hill Partnership, Hi-Lo Arts Lab, Interactive Digital Studies at the University of Northern Iowa, & the Hearst Center for the Arts
May 14 & 15 9:00-11:00pm Cedar Falls, IA - College Hill Area hiloartslab@gmail.com
April 19, 2021 – The first ever Cedar Valley Illuminate Art and Light Festival will be held May 14 and 15 between 9:00-11:00pm. This fun, creative event will be happening right in your backyard in Cedar Falls around College Hill, the University, and the Hearst Center.
In 1643 Lyon, France was stuck by the plague. The town promised that if they were spared, they would pay tribute, and ever since, on December 8th, a procession makes its way to the Basilica of Fouriére to light candles and give offerings. As we ourselves are in the midst of a deadly pandemic, we are in need of a guiding light out, something to look forward to, and to be reminded of the beauty and magic that make life so wonderful.
The Illuminate Art and Light Festival will give the public an opportunity to explore larger-than-life projections and view temporary installations. The Cedar Valley will be lit-up with inspiring, challenging, and thought-provoking creative projects. This festival is organized as a collaboration between the Interactive Digital Studies Practicum at the University of Northern Iowa and Hi-Lo Arts Lab and is sponsored by the College Hill Partnership.
“Projection events are common across the country but haven't yet made their way to the Cedar Valley until now,” said Dana Potter, the founder of Hi-Lo Arts Lab and professor at the University of Northern Iowa. “We may be a little late to the game, but we are kicking it up a notch with advanced technologies. Responsive audio/visual installations, dynamic video poetry, and interactive live-video feeds. Most excitingly, everything is made by people who live and work in the area. We are showcasing work for us, by us as we need community now more than ever.”
This event will be free to the public. We will be following social distancing guidelines and sanitation stations will be onsite.
About Guest Blogger: Grace J. McGovern , is a student at the University of Northern Iowa with an IDS of Advertising and Visualization. She is also in Pi Sigma Epsilon and serves as their VP of PR.
Previously in Taylor’s work she has only used software, methods, and technology that she has experience with or felt like she had a firm handle on. This festival has given her the opportunity to step out of her comfort zone and help make someone of her wild, out of reach ideas come to life.
“Generally I hope that my work can become larger than myself, where it connects to a greater human experience, creates sensations of its own, or reflects each individual’s narrative that they bring to the viewing experience.”
Taylor has been working with the projects team to create an inspiring project for the Illuminate Art and Light Festival. She has been interested in the ways that technology and how her art practice will come together for this event. She is thinking a lot about new ways she can use projected light and how to get viewers involved in her work. 
“Making art has become important to my lifestyle. There are discoveries and failures that come through making the process that are important to my growth as an individual. The lessons that I have learned about myself and about various processes are very personal to me and should go without the viewers ever knowing.” – Taylor Hanson
You can find Taylor’s work at the Illuminate Art and Light Festival on College Hill near the Center for Social and Behavioral Research building.
The Illuminate Art and Light Festival will be held free to the public on May 14 and 15 between 9:30-11:00pm on College Hill. Learn more about the event and its artists at hiloartslab.com. Can’t wait to see you there!
Grace J. McGovern , is a student at the University of Northern Iowa with an IDS of Advertising and Visualization. She is also in Pi Sigma Epsilon and serves as their VP of PR.
"College Hill has changed dramatically since I first encountered it. People shop differently then they did back then. This has affected the businesses located on College and 23rd Streets and retail areas like it all around the country. On the residential side, increased student population has changed the face of neighborhoods through out the College Hill overlay. What will the next thirty five years bring? We cannot be sure, but I feel that it is full of promise. We have a unique opportunity, now more than ever, to shape what College Hill is and what it will become. I strongly believe that the Streetscape construction project mounted by the city of Cedar Falls is the start of a new era for all of us who live, work and play on the Hill.
