TAVA

TARTU LIGHT BIENNALE TAVA26

Tartu Light Biennale or TAVA26 is a comprehensive, international and multidisciplinary light event whose main goal is to raise awareness of the role of lighting and light art in our everyday living environment. The preliminary and main events of the festival last a total of 30 days.

The main program of TAVA26 consists of architectural lighting workshops, outdoor installations, concerts, perfomaces and indoor exhibitions. In addition, there will be cooperation with Tartu cultural institutions and companies, whose activities can be found in the TAVA side program.
TAVA involves city citizens, cultural institutions, and local entrepreneurs. Together, Tartu will be transformed into a Mecca of Light, which will act as an inviting beacon during the darkest time in the Nordic region, attracting culture enthusiasts to Southern Estonia.

The axis exhibiting TAVA26 light installations begins at the Tartu University Botanical Garden and moves along the old town up to Toomemägi, to the ruins of the Cathedral.

HISTORY

What is tava?

The TAVA Light Biennale will be held in Estonia for the fifth time in 2026. The previous editions were in 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2024 (under the name Architectural Lighting and Light Art Festival).

While the festivals held in 2016 and 2018 were primarily aimed at audiences in Estonia and neighboring countries, TAVA2021 was significantly more international and also included the annual conference of the international outdoor lighting association LUCI (Lighting Urban Community International). The festival brought together nearly 100 specialists in the field of light art and architectural lighting from countries such as China, South Korea, Mexico, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, and France.

We arrived in 2024 after several economic and social upheavals - COVID, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, crises in the Middle East, etc. But during difficult times, we found several great partners with whom we implemented a heart-warming and thought-provoking f

AMBITION

TAVA's ambition is to be a major lighting event in the contemporary art and architecture scene in the surrounding area, with the aim of developing society's awareness of light in preventing light pollution and creating a favorable environment for the development of high-quality lighting design and light art in Estonia, and thus also throughout the world.

TAVA26