Participating artists and outdoor installations

DLECTRICITY unveils over 40 artists and outdoor installations for Detroit’s nighttime festival of art, light and technology. 

DLECTRICITY presented by DTE Energy Foundation, the stunning nighttime outdoor festival of art, light and technology, returns to Midtown Detroit this fall and will showcase the work of 40 artists from Detroit and across the globe who have been commissioned to illuminate the cultural corridor with cutting-edge installations of light, video, performance, and other unexpected works of art. Produced by Midtown Detroit, Inc., DLECTRICITY will take place in open, public spaces throughout the Cultural Center District and Beacon Park, September 24 and 25, 2021. DLECTRICITY is free to the public. A complete list of artists and projects may be found here.

DLECTRICITY features artists from Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Detroit. The event is inspired by other international festivals known for bringing the best of contemporary light and technology-based arts to the streets of major cities from all over the world.

“DLECTRICITY celebrates the immense power of art and culture in bringing us together,” Susan Mosey, executive director, Midtown Detroit, Inc. “We are grateful to our incredible partners whose support makes it possible to bring these world-class artists and projects to Detroit and produce a beautiful outdoor event that allows us to safely connect with art and one another.”   

DLECTRICITY will host internationally acclaimed artists including Yann Nguema, Amanda Parer among others to the festival to show a range of high-quality light-based projects, video projections and more.

Artists include: Farah Al Qasimi: General Behavior, video installation / CMAP: Lantern Landscapes: The Past Hangs Low Above Us, 1/20th scale illuminated “neighborhood” and video projection / Corktown Studios: The Sidewalk Ballet | AKA: The Arkestral Procession, interactive audiovisual mechanisms / Stephanie Dinkins: Secret Garden, video projection, in partnership with University of Michigan Stamps Gallery / Patrick Ethen: Pulsar, Circular data-driven generative light sculpture / Jake Fried: Brain Wave, Mind Frame and Night Vision, three video projections / Allison Janae Hamilton: Waters of a Lower Register, immersive 5-channel film installation / Tom Harman of LaserNet: Project Dali, geometric-patterned overhead laser installation / Layne Hinton: Shadow Machines, analog mechanical light sculptures with light projection / Tiff Massey: Get Big, interactive audiovisual installation / Mentalgassi: Illuminated Balloon Heads – Detroit, portraits of notable Detroiters on large, illuminated inflatable spheres / Takayuki Mori: View Tracing #3, installation of “traced” sculptural objects activated by UV light / New D Media: The Bird, mapped video projection / Yann Nguema: Parallels, mapped video projection with sound and lasers / Amanda Parer: Man, giant illuminated inflatable sculpture / Pneuhaus: Canopy, visitors ride bicycles to activate large inflatable canopy sculptures / Matt Sandbank’s Shadow Factory: Still Life, series of classic shadow puppet performances with live projection / “The Scene” with Nat Morris and friends: programmed music stage and dance floor based on Detroit’s iconic dance television show, “The Scene” / 

Midtown Detroit, Inc. has also announced the return of the DLECTRICITY Light Bike parade.

DLECTRICITY is presented by DTE Energy Foundation. Sponsors include the William Davidson Foundation, Midtown Detroit, Inc., Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Detroit Institute of Arts, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Michigan Humanities Council and Marc Schwartz.

Detroit’s Cultural Center is an 83-acre site in the Midtown district. The space has some of the most preeminent institutions of Detroit, which together represent the highest density of cultural institutions per acre in the country outside of the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. The Cultural Center attracts 2 million visitors per year.

2021 marks the fourth edition of DLECTRICITY which last awed audiences in 2017.