The São Paulo International Festival of Lights reaches its 7th edition in 2025 with an even more ambitious proposal! This time, the event promises to transform Brazil’s largest city into a stage for art, technology and visual poetry.
With a totally free program and interventions spread across various parts of the capital, the festival starts in May and runs until the end of August. For four months, urban landmarks such as Ibirapuera Park, Avenida Paulista, Beco do Batman and Praça Olavo Bilac will host light shows and projections.
In addition, this year the festival is launching an international artist residency program. The Intertwine Network will select talents from all over the world to develop digital and immersive works during the event.
São Paulo International Light Festival will feature light shows, drones, mapping and installations in iconic places in the city
The project is the brainchild of Alexis Anastasiou, founder of Visualfarm and a pioneer of video mapping and drone shows in Brazil. According to him, the aim is to provide a new way of experiencing the city – more creative, sensitive and accessible. And all with free admission.
In addition, according to him, the goal of this edition is to expand access to digital art, connect the city to the international immersive art scene and provoke new ways of occupying public space with culture:
Art can transform people’s relationship with the place where they live. In 2025, we want to illuminate São Paulo with experiences that delight, educate and provoke reflection.”
The festival’s agenda is divided between May and August as follows:
May: “The Center is Ours”
On May 2 and 3, there will be the official launch at Olavo Bilac Square, with a 30-meter mega-projection created by artist Bianca Turner. On the same weekend, the Visualfarm Gymnasium, Latin America’s first immersive arts laboratory, opens. For its debut, the space is hosting an exhibition dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci.
June: “Boulevard das Artes”
On June 6 and 7, the corner of Avenida Paulista and Rua da Consolação will be taken over by projections on buildings, mapping on trees and facades and visual effects in the sky. The city’s most famous intersection will become a showcase for digital art.
July: “Occupation of the Skies”
On July 4 and 5, high-powered laser beams will appear at five strategic points between the Tietê and Pinheiros rivers, transforming the night sky into a living work of light and color.
August: The Month of Lights
Finally, in August, the main program takes place over three consecutive weekends:
- August 5 to 9: Visual installations with laser towers scattered around the city.
- August 8 and 9: Beco do Batman will be converted into an immersive street, with works by artists from Brazil and around the world.
- August 15 and 16: “Ocupação Paulista” takes over the avenue and Praça dos Arcos, with projections and new installations.
- August 23 and 24: The event closes with a double show in Ibirapuera Park, including video mapping on the Monument to the Flags and a show of 300 drones synchronized with projections and a soundtrack in Ibrahim Nobre Square, in front of the Obelisk.