By Edward Bartholomew
Over Labor Day weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in Night Lights in New Lebanon, a lighting festival that brings lighting designers together from across the country to step outside the conventions of architectural practice and work as light artists. Set on a rural property in New Lebanon, New York, the event transforms the landscape through temporary installations created with lighting equipment, experimentation, and imagination. More than 30 lighting designers participated, creating an immersive nighttime environment for the surrounding community to explore and experience.
What makes Night Lights particularly compelling is the freedom to experiment. Without the usual constraints of a client, program, building code, or conventional project deliverable, light becomes the primary material. The landscape becomes both canvas and laboratory—a place to explore darkness, perception, color, shadow, movement, scale, and the relationship between people and place.
My Experience:
At dusk, I parked my car and joined others being guided by the Night Lights team across the road to the event. It was clear they had done this before—everything flowed effortlessly, and before long, I was walking through a tunnel of changing light that marked the beginning of the circuit. Along the way, I met the artists and had the opportunity to hear about the ideas behind their installations. All the technical challenges and intense work required to create the event seemed to dissolve into a spectacle of light.
Install Design: Jess Krometis
Moving from one installation to the next, I was struck by how playful and interactive the artworks were—from a spider with glowing eyes, to a tree shimmering with light, to a field of luminous, color-changing flowers. The landscape became the canvas, gradually revealing itself as I moved in the dark from one piece to another.
What made the evening especially memorable was seeing so many local families and children experiencing it together. Their curiosity and excitement transformed the event into a shared, almost magical community experience. In conversations with attendees, I repeatedly heard a sense of wonder at how different each installation was and how collectively they revealed the extraordinary creative potential of light.
Ultimately, my time at Night Lights in New Lebanon was a wonderful visual and communal experience.
Look out for next years announcement and come join the fun.
Special acknowledgement to Sara Schonour and Shantel Schonour for organizing and hosting this fantastic event.
Install Design: Sara Schonour and Jess Krometis