Art is typically a conversation between artists and audiences. However, that conversation has started to feel one-sided lately. In 2023, while art contributed $1.2 trillion to the national GDP, general art attendance waned.
To reach audiences, some artists have begun rethinking how and where their art is exhibited. Public art has emerged as a vital tool to help artists meet audiences where they already are. Many public art exhibits incorporate immersive technology, such as projection mapping, to create engaging experiences.
Using projection mapping to transform existing architecture, public art events like LUMINEX, LUMA, BLINK, and Let’s Glow SF create immersive experiences that wow audiences, expand accessibility, and revitalize communities. The medium and the format enable artists to be more creative in their ongoing conversations with audiences.
Projection Mapping Encourages Artists to Reimagine Existing Cityscapes
Large buildings, close streets, and a dense population mark downtown Los Angeles. At first glance, it is similar to many other downtown areas. For the casual observer, the vibrancy and diversity of the city can be easy to overlook.
Art LA aimed to change that with their LUMINEX festival. Seeing downtown LA as a potential canvas for artistic creation, they partnered with Panasonic to expand public art in DTLA. Deploying top-of-the-line projectors, artists lit up the South Park area, utilizing the existing architecture as a part of their art. This reimagining of the cityscape allows audiences to see their backyard transformed, highlighting the area’s diverse voices and strengthening their sense of community.
Having proved how projection mapping can facilitate public art, LUMINEX is considering expanding throughout the city. The overall projection mapping market is increasing, too. Already an estimated $3.3 billion industry in 2022, the market has an expected CAGR of 23.4%.
Public Exhibits Bring Art to the People with Greater Accessibility
Binghamton, NY, is an unlikely location to be at the forefront of the intersection between art and technology. However, for the past ten years, the LUMA festival in Binghamton has been just that.
In 2024, LUMA used 29 Panasonic projectors to create vivid, immersive experiences for the crowd attending the two-day festival — and it was quite the crowd. Thanks to sponsorships and the support of partners like Panasonic, LUMA keeps nearly all the exhibits in its festival free to the public. This open access greatly expands their audience pool, from locals in the Binghamton area to anyone willing to visit during the festival weekend. In total, the festival can attract more than 30,000 attendees in one night.
LUMA has also found creative ways to engage with its community beyond the main festival:
- Partnering with Binghamton Philharmonic, they pair projection mapping and animation with classical music, exposing attendees to multiple art forms.
- Through the Peg Johnston Living Lights Project and the Crowd-Sourced Art Gallery, they give local artists opportunities to display their work in front of massive audiences.
- Throughout the year, they offer free projection mapping classes to artists in the region.
LUMA shows how projection mapping and public art can expand access and help foster the artists and art lovers of the future.
Projection Mapping Removes the Limitations of Scale
What does it take to create the largest public art event in the nation? The answer can be found at BLINK® Cincinnati. BLINK® features projection mapping, light-based art installations, and large-scale mural paintings across Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, creating a massive public art showcase.
Art at this scale enables artists to let their imaginations run free in ways other mediums and formats can’t facilitate. With the support of Panasonic technologies like a multi-projection media processor and projection mapping software, artists are fully equipped with the tools to realize whatever they dream up, at any scale.
Boosting Local Economies With Immersive Technology
After the pandemic, the Downtown SF Partnership wanted to encourage people to return to their central business district with a holiday public art installation. After partnering with Panasonic and A3 Visual, Let’s Glow SF was born.
In 2024, its fourth year, Let’s Glow SF utilized 13 Panasonic high-brightness, high-resolution, 4K projectors to create immersive experiences throughout their business district. The impact of the ten-day festival has been staggering:
- $13.2 million economic impact.
- #1 Holiday projection arts festival in the nation.
- 87,200 attendees.
- 2.13 million views on social media.
That type of public engagement has measurable effects on businesses in the community, increasing activity across dining establishments, retail centers, and hotels. Let’s Glow SF is an example of how projection mapping and public art create benefits that ripple throughout local communities.
Public Art Brings Communities Together
In modern life, everyone has their own individual screens and their own personalized feeds. While that amount of personalization is convenient in many ways, it can also be isolating. In comparison, art can bring people together. By combining technology and community, public art creates space for the communal experiences people crave. Projection mapping widens the artistic canvas, allowing for limitless creativity. The result of this immersive technology is awe-inspiring, evocative work that draws audiences out and transforms everyday surroundings into magic.
To learn more about how Panasonic helps AV professionals create impactful events and amazing experiences, check out our AV Solutions for Media & Entertainment page.
