NEW ORLEANS – LUNA (Light Up NOLA Arts) Fête closed on Saturday, December 5, 2015, following a weeklong run of high attendance and critical praise. The second iteration of LUNA Fête, a visionary initiative by the Arts Council New Orleans, pulled in a total of 20,000 attendees, signifying an increase of more than 30 percent since its memorable inaugural year in 2014.
Featuring works from 20 local, national and international artists, including major installations from OCUBO, Jen Lewin and Miwa Matreyek, LUNA Fête positioned iconic local architecture as a canvas for an impressive display of cutting-edge, outdoor light installations across the city. Local businesses surrounding the installation reported an up to 25 percent increase in sales throughout LUNA Fête week.
The notable expansion from one to 20 sites across New Orleans in 2015 reflects the Arts Council’s aim to expand the festival’s footprint within the city in the years leading up to the city’s historic tricentennial anniversary in 2018.
Envisioned as an opportunity to foster international economic commerce and increase arts awareness, LUNA Fête is inspired by the world-renowned Fête des Lumières in Lyon, France, which attracts approximately 4 million visitors annually. New Orleans is one of only three American cities to undertake the daunting task of creating a similar festival of lights on this scale, and the Arts Council aims ultimately to create a world-class, international destination event comparable to Mardi Gras and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
“LUNA Fête embraces art as an asset of positive change and provides a collective platform to showcase New Orleans growing technology, film and contemporary art communities,” Arts Council Acting Director Nick Stillman said. “LUNA Fête is the essence of the Arts Council mission, demonstrating the power of art to transform communities.”
The event also proved popular among social and traditional media channels, with social impressions topping 1.3 million. Additionally, LUNA Fête 2015 garnered almost 62 million media impressions across local, regional and national outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and Huffington Post, among many others.
LUNA Fête 2016, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2016, is currently in the works and is on track to continue its impressive growth throughout the city.
LUNA Fête 2015 sponsors included: The National Endowment for the Arts, Ochsner Health System, Eugenie & Joseph Jones Family Foundation, The New Orleans Advocate, IBERIABANK, Second Line Stages, Jones Walker, LUCID, New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, Goldring Family Foundation, New Orleans Arts District Association, Chevron, William Grant & Sons, DEVENEY, Consulat Géneral de France á La Nouvelle Orleans, Downtown Development District, City of New Orleans, Ashé Cultural Arts Center, Valentino Hotel Group, and Louisiana Division of the Arts.
