AUTHOR Christiane Grinat
PUBLISHED 23. FEB 2025
Can you introduce yourselves briefly so that we know who all was involved in this interview?
I’m Wolfgang, a former newspaper editor and now a freelance journalist. I manage the website lichtroutenkollektiv and run the blog luxluedenscheid.de. I’ve been a Lichtrouten fan since 2005. The first assistant followed in 2013, the second in 2018.
We are Susanne and Thomas Meermann. We have been following the LICHTROUTEN since the very beginning in the early 2000s, sometimes more, sometimes less intensively. But always with great enthusiasm.
I’m Cornelia Amtenbrink, a self-employed architect and a fan of modern art, especially light art since contact with the LICHTROUTEN in the 2000s. I’ve been able to visit a number of festivals, including outside of Europe.
What goes through your mind when you think about the next LICHTROUTEN?
Anticipation of an exciting festival, the hope that the curators’ plan will work out and the wish that the audience will be enthusiastic.
What is your most impressive or most beautiful memory of the previous LICHTROUTEN?
One of the best memories is the joint closing ceremony of the entire team. I found Refik Anadol’s work Semaphor on the back of the Stern Center at the 2013 Lichtrouten particularly impressive (Wolfgang). Spending the night in Numen’s work for Use in 2018 was an unforgettable moment for me (Conni). Particularly impressive, for example, were the fluorescent scent strips in the Medardus Church by Helga Griffiths in 2003 or Refik Anadol’s work Semaphor on the back of the Stern Center at the LICHTROUTEN 2013 (Susanne and Thomas)
Why are the LICHTROUTEN assistants so important for the atmosphere and success during the LICHTROUTEN?
Along with the curators, they are the voices of the Lichtrouten because, as site companions and art mediators, they establish direct contact with the audience. In addition, the Lichtrouten collective was founded from the circle of assistants in 2018, from which a light art community emerged in Lüdenscheid.
What significance do the LICHTROUTEN have for Lüdenscheid?
The LICHTROUTEN cannot be valued highly enough for Lüdenscheid. It is a cultural event with a big city standard that attracts audiences from far away and also brings Lüdenscheid residents in droves through the city center. There was a time when Lüdenscheid had a unique selling point with the LIGHT TROUTS and that is exactly what we need to get back to.
There have been no LIGHT TROUTS for six years now. What have you been doing during this time?
We have always done a lot of advertising for the festival and our community. First, in January 2019, we got the then mayor Dieter Dzewas to promise that the festival would continue. Since July 2024, we have been intensively involved in the preparation of the 2025 Light Routes. Together with Lüdenscheider Stadtmarketing GmbH, we invited people to the Light Routes preview on November 9th in the former wave pool and financially supported the event with Laurenz Theinert and Anja Kreysing. The Light Routes Open Call was also a special experience. As part of the jury, we reviewed around 70 applications and finally selected Eliska Kovacikova as the winner from 13 works in a four-hour session.
How do you ensure that you remain active beyond the event?
We invite people to get-togethers and encourage visits to light art events and exhibitions in the region. In 2021, we also took part in the city’s children and youth development agency’s light circus and accompanied the finissage of a light art workshop at the Adolf Reichwein Comprehensive School. In addition, we took over site management for the light art calendars at the Church of the Redeemer in 2020, 2021 and 2022. We are also looking for cooperation partners and allies who we want to inspire for the light routes and are constantly in discussions.
How did the Light Routes Collective come about and what ideas are important to you?
The suggestion came from curator Bettina Pelz. She wanted to encourage voluntary work for the light routes.
What motivated you to join the Lichtrouten collective?
We want to meet the challenges facing society as a whole in a creative and constructive way, make a contribution to community existence and action and thereby improve the quality of life in Lüdenscheid. After all, during the Lichtrouten festival, the city will become a space for unique artistic experiences beyond what is visible in everyday life.
You also suggested the micro-sponsorship PUSH, why do so many people have to support it?
We are convinced that there are many people in Lüdenscheid who care about the LICHTROUTEN like we do. With PUSH it is simple and easy to say “Yes, I want to support the LICHTROUTEN”. A few clicks are enough. The 90 euros associated with this should be understood as personal sponsorship and above all as a strong sign for the LICHTROUTEN. Anyone can, no one has to. The 90 euros are money well invested because they help to make the LICHTROUTEN even more attractive. Last but not least, PUSH also includes free participation in guided tours and other discounts.
What are you doing during the next LICHTROUTEN? How is the Lichtrouten collective involved in the LICHTROUTEN?
We are involved ourselves as assistants, taking on guided tours and art education at the locations. Wolfgang keeps in touch with the media and reports on the preparations and the festival from MARch 20th to 29th on the websites www.lichtroutenkollektiv.de and www.luxluedenscheid.de.
What future prospects do you have for the LICHTROUTEN collective?
The collective continues to see itself as a supporter of LICHTROUTEN and hopes to be able to attract many like-minded people.
Is there a possibility to join the collective?
Anytime! Simply go to lichtroutenkollektiv and click on COMMUNITY, download the application form and send it to us. Done!