WHEN NIGHT FALLS OVER SMÖGEN, THE LIGHT COMES ALIVE

4–13 SEP 2026 SMÖGEN, SWEDEN

OPENING HOURS 20:00–00:00 · EVERY DAY

PHILIPP FRANK / LITHOGENESIS - commissioned för Island Of Light 2025

Island of Light is an international light art festival where the cliffs, sea, boathouses, and horizon of Smögen become the setting for site-specific and interactive works by artists from around the world.

We are now looking back on this year’s unique light festival – created in collaboration with nature, the artists, the visitors, and many helping hands from Smögen, Kungshamn, and the Sotenäs Municipality.

PLAN A VISIT TO SMÖGEN

VISIT

MIGUEL CHEVALIER

POST- NATURAL: LIVING PLANKTON

At the festival's largest cliff, the visitor could experience a monumental digital ecosystem projected directly onto Smögen’s pink granite. Inspired by plankton – the ocean’s blue lung – a scenery emerges at the intersection of nature, myths, science, and technology.

Music: Claude Micheli

WAYS TO EXPERIENCE THE LIGHT...

FESTIVAL WALKS

Experience the light art as darkness reveals the landscape. Or enjoy the stories behind the works in daylight.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Enjoy the full festival opportunities during your stay – lots of new ones this year.

SEE IT FROM THE SEA

Discover the festival highlights from the water – the cliffs, artworks, and night skies offer new perspectives every evening.

CINEMA ON THE ROCKS

You don't want to miss this years' film list – with NATURE by Yann Arthus-Bertrand as our "Headliner".

OPEN FISHERMAN'S CABIN

Visit an authentic fisherman's cabin from the 1850s, and the photo exhibition "Bathing guest at Smögen".

THE 2026 FESTIVAL ARTISTS

EMMA RÖNNHOLM

FINLAND

Emma Rönnholm is a visual artist, working predominately with sculpture, installation, kinetic and light art. She likes to set her works in motion using simple motorised mechanisms, tension, optical illusions or light. The pieces are often made of recycled everyday materials. Humour, DIY and a certain meditative rhythm define her artistic oeuvre. Rönnholm obtained her MA in the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2011.

ROBERT SOCHACKI

POLAND

Working within the light art frame Sochacki comments and interprets topic from everydaylife. He looks into social and political perspectives and tries to uncover some relationships between the artwork and the space where it is presented. By creating artistic codes and contextualize them in a site specific setting he invites the viewers to re-discover and re-define their everyday experience. His artistic resaerche is focused on deconstruction the division between the artwork and the viewer. Going beyond the tradicional pedagogy of a master/student, he is lecturer (PhD) at art academies.

MIGUEL CHEVALIER

FRANCE

French digital and virtual artist. Since 1978, Miguel Chevalier has used computers as a means of expression in the field of the visual arts. He has established himself internationally as one of the pioneers of virtual and digital art.

THOSE GUYS LIGHTING

LATVIA

We are a collective of engineers, lighting designers, and programmers based in Riga, Latvia. Since our founding in 2018, we’ve evolved from a small studio into a recognized name in the European light-art scene. Our projects have been featured at major events across Europe and beyond. Driven by passion and precision, we are committed to delivering bold, uncompromising light-based experiences.

CRAIG & ANTON

WALES

Frequent collaborators Craig Morrison and Ant Dickinson are Wales-based creative practitioners working across interdisciplinary fields. Morrison’s practice moves fluidly between fashion, production, costume design, curation, and creative direction, while Dickinson’s work is grounded in music, media design, and projection. For this installation, they are joined by Norwegian dancer Ann-Kathrin Granhus, embodying the central role of the Shaman.

ANDREW SCOTT

SWEDEN

Andrew Scott has been a teacher in various aspects of Media Production since the turn of the millennium. Since 2010 he has run the Audiovisual Production program at Höskolan Dalarna. The education has also developed Scott's own work and for the third time he is exhibiting a work at Island of Light.

ERIC LANGENDOEN

NETHERLANDS

Eric Langendoen is a designer, performer and visual artist. His work varies from site specific theatre to interactive installations. The works take many forms, but they are always situated in the triangle between music, theatre and visual arts. He tries to engage the audience in a way that they can interact with or become part of the work.

ANNI LAUKKA

FINLAND

Anni Laukka (b. 1982, Kokkola, Finland) is a contemporary artist working across sculpture, installation, and light-based practices. Her work explores how material, memory, and lived experience intersect, transforming found and sourced materials into installations and sculptures that carry both physical and documentary presence.

ILLUMINOS

Illuminos are brothers Matt and Rob Vale, who for over 10 years have been creating visually inventive, memorable projection artworks and experiences. Our works range from very large scale illumination to small scale imagery, but always working to create something unique and specific to location and viewer.

THEODORA "DORINA" SALTI

GREECE

Theodora "Dorina" Salti is a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland, and a drama teacher researching the educational potential of immersive experiences in interactive audiovisual installations and performances. For more of Theodoras work, visit childrenoftheartsworld.com

PAS

SWEDEN

Under the direction of EMMA- KARA NILSSON – lighting designer and lighting artist with a focus on the expression of the place/room. With nature as a source of inspiration, my artistic works take shape.

ALEKSANDRA STRATIMIROVIC

SWEDEN

Aleksandra Stratimirovic is a light artist whose practice explores the spatial, emotional, and social dimensions of light in public space. She works across installation, site-specific intervention, and public art, creating works that engage architecture, perception, and collective experience. Aleksandra has been part of the creative team behind Island of Light since its start.

Se alla konstnärer

SMÖGEN IS THE STAGE. THE SEA IS THE SPACE. THE CLIFFS MAKE THE CANVAS.

Island of Light merges when art meets the environment. Smögen and its pink granite cliffs, the boathouses, the quays, the sea, and the open sky are not just backdrops – they are natural parts of all the artworks. Enjoy the scenes where light gains scale, direction, echo, and intensification.

THE CLIFFS

Natural stone surfaces become monumental canvases.

THE OCEAN

The water reflects, extends and amplifies the light.

THE DARKNESS

As daylight fades, the island transforms.

EXPERIENCE THE ART ONLINE

Follow the digital route through Smögen and experience online how each artwork lit up its part of the island. Open our interactive map for more information about the artworks and the festival area:

INTERACTIVE MAP

EXPERIENCE THE ART ONLINE

Follow the digital route through Smögen and experience online how each artwork lit up its part of the island. Open our interactive map for more information about the artworks and the festival area:

INTERACTIVE MAP

INTERAKTIV KARTA

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LIGHT ART LEAVES NATURE UNTOUCHED AFTER THE FESTIVAL.

Island of Light is a tribute to the place – but also a reminder of its fragility. Through art, light, and carefully placed temporary works, a sincere consideration is shown for the sites where the art is experienced. Visitors wander along piers, walkways, and roads, drawn to experiences at untouched cliffs and facades, to the sea, and to the sky. In addition to the projections, installations are created from recycled materials and reused at other light festivals.

COME FOR THE LIGHT. STAY FOR SMÖGEN AND KUNGSHAMN.

All of Smögen and Kungshamn stays open for an extra month to celebrate the festival, but there is plenty to do after the festival as well. Stroll along the quays, take a cold dip, enjoy a delicious meal by the sea, and experience the magical transformation as darkness falls – and if you’re really lucky, the Northern Lights might make an appearance under the stars.

WHEN IS THE FESTIVAL?

The festival takes place over ten days in early September. This year 2026, it was held from September 4 to 13.

ARE THERE HOTELS NEARBY?

Yes, there are different types of accommodation to suit all needs – from high-class hotels to simpler hostels and private accommodation. Here are some examples: Smögens Havsbad Hotell, Sea Lodge and Hotell Kungshamn, with many more.

HOW DO YOU GET THERE?

Want to get here without a car? The nearest airport is Landvetter and the nearest train station is Gothenburg Central. From there, you can take Västtrafik's bus 860 from Nils Ericsonterminalen (next to Gothenburg C) directly to Smögen bus station. There are also buses from Torp Shopping Center outside of Uddevalla. If you end up in the neighboring town of Kungshamn, you can take the classic "Zita boats" across to Smögen.

PARKING – FREE SHUTTLE BUS

There are plenty of parking options in and around Smögen and Kungshamn. However, during the festival, these fill up quickly, and traffic flow becomes restricted. Parking is then available in the small community of Väjern, where a free festival shuttle runs between the Väjern Bus Station and the Smögen Bus Stop.

Exact dates and times will be posted here closer to the festival.

WHAT CAN YOU DO IN SMÖGEN?

In addition to the Island of Light festival, Smögen and Kungshamn offer a variety of activities and attractions for everyone. Take a boat trip to Hållö, or join a seal safari. You can also experience the beautiful environment on foot through the Kleven Outdoor Trail, Smögen's pilot lookout or Sandön Nature Reserve. Or enjoy Smögen's restaurants, cafes, galleries, shops and brewery. More information can be found on the Väst Sverige website: www.vastsverige.com

WANT TO STAY UPDATED?

Stay updated via the festival's social media. Ongoing updates before, during, and after the festival will be posted primarily via our Facebook and Instagram accounts, linked below.

CAN YOU BRING A STROLLER?

Yes! Most of Smögen and the artworks' viewing areas are stroller and wheelchair accessible. However, some artworks require you to climb up and over cliffs, but in those cases it is fine to leave the stroller nearby.

CREATED BY ARTISTS, LOCAL FORCES, AND THE ISLAND ITSELF.

Island of Light was initiated in 2018 and has developed into what it is today thanks to creative artists, generous partners, volunteers, local businesses, and visitors. Kind people who want to see Smögen shine far beyond the summer season. Island of Light is produced by the non-profit association Smögen Art-light Festival, under the artistic direction of founder Dulce Sales Ahlberg.

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