The second edition of Zaragoza Luce has been presented, which will take place from February 19 to 22. This cultural event will unfold across 12 distinct locations in the historic center of Zaragoza, thereby increasing its presence after the large turnout received in its inaugural edition last year.
As Mayor Natalia Chueca explained at the event’s presentation, the festival is organized jointly by the Zaragoza City Council and the agency Antídoto, with the curatorship of Curro Melero. Its duration has expanded from three to four days. In short, from February 19 to 22, the variety of artistic proposals will shine from 8 PM until midnight.
In 2025, 278,000 people visited the light installations in eight of the city’s squares over three days, and in 2026, the number of visitors is expected to increase over four nights at the dozen locations that will host the eight artistic interventions that make up this edition. They will be able to do so during the official opening hours of the Zaragoza Luce Festival, which runs from 7:00 p.m. to midnight.
These twelve locations will be the Plaza del Pilar, the Plaza de la Delegación del Gobierno, the Museo del Foro, the Plaza de la Lonja, Calle del Cisne, the Fuente de la Hispanidad, the Plaza San Juan de los Panetes, Plaza del Justicia, the façade of the Official College of Architects, the Diocesan Courtyard of the Alma Mater Museum, Plaza San Felipe, and the façade of the CaixaBank building in Plaza de España.
The growth of the Zaragoza Luce art and light festival is not only evident in the increase in the number of places where the light installations can be enjoyed. The aim is also to make each of them accessible and understandable to the general public, so audio guides will be available to help visitors learn more about the works, reflect on them, and understand their links with the historical heritage of the city that hosts them.
In addition, the event will be more ambitious in 2026, combining the cultural and spectacular aspects with educational goals. To this end, the Official College of Architects of Aragon will collaborate by offering students master classes by the artists and a guided tour with them.
These masterclasses with internationally renowned artists participating in Zaragoza Luce will take place on the Friday of the festival at the headquarters of the Association of Architects. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the professional careers of these creators, as well as their working methods and approaches when devising each artistic project.
They will even be able to meet some of the guest artists and the festival curator during a guided tour of the different installations. This will be the ideal opportunity to delve deeper into each of the installations, creating a dialogue with their creators that will be most inspiring for future artists in the sector.
And this will not be the only way for students to participate. An exhibition of the artistic intervention Interferencias(Interferences) has also been programmed, developed by students from the Zaragoza School of Art in collaboration with local creator Néstor Lizalde. Together, they will generate a shared process in which young people actively participate in all phases of the project, from conceptualization to installation in public spaces.
This work will showcase local talent and the festival’s commitment to the future. Alongside this, there will also be world-renowned figures in light art. Zaragoza Luce 2026 will have a more international dimension. Works by leading artists will be on display, such as the Canadian studio Lateral Office, which, together with CS Designe, presents Impulse, which, after triumphing at other festivals around the world, will now encourage interactive participation in the Plaza del Pilar.
Not far away, in the Plaza de San Juan de los Panetes, will be the work Earthtime 1.26 by American artist Janet Echelman, who will invite us to think about globalization and the relationship between humans and the planet. Meanwhile, French artist Cédric Le Borgne will humanize different points around the Pilar and the Lonja with luminous figures that have traveled halfway around the world.
After all, his intervention is entitled Les Voyageurs (the travelers). Also from France comes the work Flux by Collectif Scale and the Keyframes Games Stores by the Groupe LAPS collective.
However, there will also be works of national origin. This will be the case with Jou Serra, who will project his Transitar onto the façade of the CaixaBank building. Similarly, Maxi Gilbert will exhibit his Antimateria at the Patio Diocesano of the Alma Mater Museum, inviting viewers to reflect on space, its perception, and the use of technology.
This Argentine-born creator, now based in Spain, has become fully involved in the event. So much so that he attended the presentation of Zaragoza Luce 2026 by Natalia Chueca. This presentation clearly demonstrated the commitment to this cultural project, which was such a surprise last year. The figures speak for themselves, as it is estimated that it had an impact of more than €4 million and during the days of the event there was a 20% increase in hotel occupancy, reaching an average of almost 70%.
But beyond the economic value, in the words of the mayor herself, “the festival connects with something essential: the excitement of rediscovering our monuments, our buildings, our squares from a new perspective. This dialogue between perspectives, disciplines, and sensibilities is one of the great strengths of the festival. Because Zaragoza Luce is not just a show; it is cultural content, it is contemporary thinking applied to the street.”
For more information, please consult the official sources of the City Council of Zaragoza and the Luce 2026 Festivalitself.
