Water Light Festival 2026 in Bressanone: light art imagining peace

Water Light Festival 2026 in Bressanone

When: 29 April–16 May 2026. Where: Bressanone historic centre, riverside locations and the Forte di Fortezza.

Theme and artistic focus

The festival turns the town into a night-time laboratory of light and sound. More than twenty installations and performances by 24 artists and collectives from 13 countries reflect on peace through projection, sculptural light works, sand animation and participatory pieces.

Highlights of the installations

• Identity by Alessandro Lupi: an intervention questioning power and identity.
• Nadir by Norwegian collective VOID: an inverted pyramid inviting collective reflection.
• On Blank Pages by Luzinterruptus: thousands of blank pages in Piazza Duomo for anonymous thoughts.
• Endless by Julia Shamsheieva and projection works that speak to resilience.
• Site-specific works at the Hofburg and installations in the Schenoni and Urban Lab areas.

Selected program events

• 1–2 May: "Personae" creative workshop (headpieces from reclaimed materials).
• 2 May: collective dance performance "Be Water My Friends" at Giardini Rapp.
• 8 May: seminar on new environmental action by Ferdinando Cotugno.
• 9 May: eco-powered screening of "Grave of the Fireflies".
• 16 May (final night): Queer B Party at WunderBar and the Mutoid Waste Company fire show "Imagine Peace", simultaneous with the Eurovision live broadcast.

Times, tickets and guided tours

Main night installations are generally visible from 21:00 to 24:00. Some works in Schenoni and Urban Lab are open during the day (17:00–20:30, last entry Urban Lab 20:00), while the Forte di Fortezza hosts daytime installations from 10:00 to 18:00.

Most historic-centre installations are free. A Festival Pass is required for five special site-specific works. Sample prices:

• Pre-sale (until 28 April): €11 adult, €8 reduced.
• From 29 April: €15 adult, €10 reduced.
• Children 0–14: free.

Every evening at 21:15 the Water Light Experience offers paid guided tours that explain the concepts and techniques behind key works.

Practical tips

• Buy your pass online or at the Bressanone tourist office to skip queues.
• Plan a route in advance to cover riverside works and the Forte on the same visit.
• Check daytime opening hours for Schenoni, Urban Lab and the Forte to catch daytime installations.

The Water Light Festival combines aesthetics, technology and civic themes: a compact yet intense festival where light becomes a medium for social and poetic reflection.