Art of Darkness as Cultural Heritage of Urban Landscape

The Art of Darkness as Cultural Heritage of Urban Landscape (Art of Darkness) project aims to preserve and develop cultural heritage sites throughout Europe with a better understanding of the cultural, aesthetic, and sustainability values of darkness, which are important to the well-being of humans and nature.

The project raises awareness of and explores well-considered darkness with high-quality architectural lighting design and light art as an asset in relation to cultural heritage, which can be cherished and harnessed to boost cultural-led innovation and attract strategic investments to cultural heritage and Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI).

This is achieved through creating a Europe-wide collaborative network of 3 cities, 5 research institutions and 2 societies, which conduct 5 artistic pilot trials in cultural heritage sites in 5 countries.

The pilot trials develop design strategies and solutions for more sustainable, aesthetic and socially feasible dark-time experiences through co-design with local stakeholders.

The piloting process, which consists of context mapping, co-design, pilot production and evaluation processes, brings together researchers, CCIs professionals (e.g. artists, lighting designers, architects), citizens, local societies, and municipality actors.

Thus, methodology of the project is transdisciplinary, participatory and integrative: The disciplines included in the project consortium are architecture, light-art, cultural heritage, urban design and planning, lighting design, photometrics, engineering, media- and neurotechnology, environmental psychology, cultural anthropology, scenography, and performing arts.

Importantly, the evaluated results are integrated into the Art of Darkness Piloting Model to be replicated in other cities and regions and translated into roadmaps and policy briefs for further impact.

All values and working principles of the NEB Compass are implemented in the project work with the highest ambition level.