“We’re so excited to see what people propose,” says Alyce Maclean, Chair of the festival. “One of the wonderful aspects of Lumière is that, by its nature, the festival is completely different each year, and the content is 100% driven by the arts community. This is always a really exciting time of year, because people come up with really thoughtful, wonderful projects and we get to witness it all seamlessly come together.”
Artists participating in Lumière typically receive an honorarium. “Given the availability of funds each year, we are able to pay artists a set honorarium. We feel it’s incredibly important to do our part to legitimize and professionalize the arts in Cape Breton, and paying artists plays an important role in that process.” Maclean says the festival refers to the standards set by Canadian Artists’ Representation / Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC) as a guide for fair remuneration. “We also want to attract high quality submissions to the event, so offering payment helps with that, as well.”
In 2015, Lumière brought over 8,000 people to Sydney’s downtown core. It also earned the festival its second Sydney Area Chamber of Commerce’s People’s Choice Award: Favourite Arts and Culture Experience. In 2013, Lumière was awarded the Favourite Outdoor Experience in CBRM.
Lumière will take place over three days: artist talks and workshops will be held on September 22nd and 23rd, and the art-at-night event will take place on Saturday, September 24th, 2016. The deadline to apply is April 25th, 2016 at midnight. To learn more about Lumière and access the artist application, please visit lumierecb.com.
Lumière Arts Festival Association develops, plans, promotes, and facilitates an art at night festival in downtown Sydney, NS annually each September. LAFA makes art accessible to the public, and provides experiences that are transformative, intangible, and free for all to partake.
