KARI KOLA CURRICULUM VITAE
I have made hundreds of smaller projects between 2003 and 2021 including dance, theatre, music, festivals, exhibitions, classical music concerts, operas, outdoor and indoor lighting, etc. I have taught and held lectures on many different aspects of lighting in Finland and many other countries. I have worked as a technical or Artistic Director at many festivals and events. Here are a few projects mentioned that are focused on Light art
03/2020 SAVAGE BEAUTY, GALWAY 2020 EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE
For Galway 2020, Finnish Light Artist Kari Kola and his team turn their attention to the extraordinary beauty of the mountains next to the Lough Na Fuaiche. Kari will create one of the largest illuminated artworks, using the extraordinary beauty of the Connemara mountains as the perfect backdrop. In a massive illumination, Kola Kola makes a light roof over the whole valley and will use green and blue to make one big art piece next to the Lough Na Fuaiche.
Savage Beauty by Kari Kola was commissioned by Galway2020 European Capital of Culture.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
10/2019 MINDSETS, GLOW EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS
Mindsets was the result of a unique cooperation with Alessandro Lupi (Italy).
A collection of geometric, ‘living’ sculptures on the pond open the tryptic in an almost meditative manner, after which the public follows the path to the second work in the heart of the museum. In an abstract, but organic manner, the public finds themselves amid the natural phenomenon of the Northern lights. The colorful, nocturnal atmosphere is left behind and the public leaves the museum through a powerful rising sun.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
9/2019 FREQUENCIES, ISLAND OF LIGHT FESTIVAL, SMÖGEN, SWEDEN
I participated in the Island of Light Festival with a piece of light art called Frequencies. This monumental installation was generated at the Smögen place called Kläven. I utilized various elements of the unique space to bring out my work - Water and rocks give the light artwork a unique and mystical look. Part of the installation was a soundscape composed by a Finnish Sound Designer Heikki Savolainen.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
10/2018 LIGHT ARTIST KARI KOLA AND JAGUAR I-PACE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Finnish Light artist Kari Kola co-operated with Jaguar Finland in a unique advertising video on October 25th, 2018. This is a good example of how we can combine creative ideas, art, technology and business.
Concept / Light design / Actor
05/2018 DAY AND NIGHT, THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL DAY OF LIGHT FLAGSHIP EVENT, UNESCO HQ, PARIS, FRANCE
I generated a piece of light art called Day and Night in Paris in honor of the first International Day of Light. The themes of the artwork were light and darkness, day and night, the sun and the moon.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
04/2018 STONEHENGE - IMPACT WITH LIGHT PROJECT, ENGLAND
I illuminated the world-famous stone circle overnight and into the dawn of World Heritage Day. The incredible artwork at Stonehenge is the first element of the ‘Impact with Light’ project which focuses attention on World Heritage Sites, aiming to increase awareness of UNESCO’s work, cultural history and global themes such as climate change. The site is truly iconic and globally one of the most significant in terms of the origins of our cultural history. The light installation at Stonehenge was realized in cooperation with English Heritage.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
02/2018 NORDIC BUTTERFLY, CIDNEON INTERNATIONAL LIGHT FESTIVAL, ITALY
Kari Kola made two pieces of light art at the Cidneon International Light festival in Brescia Italy. The first piece, Nordic Butterfly, was shaped together with a Painter Katja Kouvolainen and a Scenographer Samuli Halla. This decorative and impressive artwork, comprised of five large butterflies, produces the first flutter of butterflies that will evolve and expand in the future by these three artists.
The inspiration for the artwork comes from Finnish butterflies, which are represented in the artwork by our national butterfly Celastrina argiolus, Aglais urticae, Aglais io, Papilio Machaon, and the rarely seen vagabond of the Finnish nature, Acherontia atropos.
The second piece of art was called Blue & White and is portrayed on the outer walls of the old Brescia Castle.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
11/2017 LUMINOUS FINLAND 100, FINLAND
Luminous Finland 100 light art ensemble comprised six massive pieces of light art that were exhibited all around Finland during this jubilee year of Finnish independence.
Familiar Finnish landmarks, natural diversity and some historical sites were highlighted by light art in an unprecedented way. Luminous Finland 100 was a part of the official jubilee program of Finnish independence and it was the biggest of the art concepts. The main sponsor for the light art ensemble was the Prime Minister’s Office in Finland.
The artwork for the Jubilee Year Opening Ceremony in Töölönlahti Bay of Helsinki on 31st December 2016 launched the light art series. Luminous Finland 100 ensemble culminated around the Finnish Independence Day jubilee week, 28th November - 6th December 2017, when the pieces of light art series were lit one by one in Olavinlinna Castle in Savonlinna, Näsinneula Observation Tower in Tampere, Kuusisaari Isle in Oulu, Saana Fell in Kilpisjärvi, and Turku Castle in Turku.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
11/2017 LUMIERE DURHAM, ENGLAND
Kari Kola took part in the Lumiere Durham Light Festival with his piece of light art called Frequencies. This massive piece was generated onto the banks of River Wear that runs through the city center. The River Wear was a pivotal Durham landmark. Kola created an absorbing contrast to the natural beauty of the river and its surroundings, with a 360-degree installation using customized soundscape and captivating light. Delight in the riverside landscape transformed into a dreamlike wonderland. The soundscape was composed by a Finnish Sound Designer Heikki Savolainen.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
11/2017 GLOW EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS
Light Artist Kari Kola participated Glow Light Festival in the Netherlands with two pieces of light art in cooperation with other artists. The installation titled Submerged was created in cooperation with an American Light Artist Annie Mitchell and a Dutch Sound Designer Philip Ross. The theme of the piece was water and it was built in the setting of a historically significant river that flows through Eindhoven, the Dommel: the surrounding nature by the river and the walls of the Van Abbe Museum were brought to life by underwater optic fibers and reflections of the water.
The second installation, Story of Light, told a tale of inventions and the history of light. We go back in time to the moment when natural light was the only light that existed, from there to the time of the inventions and the beginning of a historical timeline and finally, into the future. These elements map out a storyline based on a variety of technologies: LED walls, patchworks based on LED light, PANI projections and landscapes of composed sound. The soundscape was composed by Ilmari Tiitinen and the video design was generated by Tiia Pulkkinen.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
9/2017 THE CITY OF LIGHT, JYVÄSKYLÄ, FINLAND
Light Artist Kari Kola produced two massive pieces of light art in the City of Light event in Jyväskylä on 28th -30th September 2017. The piece called ”Light Wave” was realized in AaltoAlvari Aquatic Centre. The water, light and soundscape of the artwork evoked almost a lyrical experience of a moonlight swim in the swimming area of the Centre. Another Kola’s piece of light art was built in the campus area of the University of Jyväskylä. The piece ”Brilliant University” illuminated 150 meters of the Ylistönrinne Campus building. The lighting focused on the large, white sides and glass staircases of the buildings on the beach.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
2/2017 CIDNEON LIGHT FESTIVAL, BRESCIA, ITALY
Light Artist Kari Kola took part in a new light festival, CidneOn, in Brescia, Italy. Kola executed his piece of light art, Magical Garden, in a park within the Brescia Castle. The public could step into a magical wonderworld and enjoyed it as a 360-degree experience. One part of the artwork, a composed soundscape, added more tones to the experience.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
12/2016 LUMINOUS FINLAND 100, HELSINKI, FINLAND
A massive light art installation was built at Helsinki’s Töölönlahti Bay as a part of the opening ceremonies of the 100th anniversary of Finnish independence.
The installation included three large spotlights, which were situated in front of the Finlandia Hall, in Hesperia Park and the Linnunlaulu area. Hesperia Park and the front of Finlandia Hall will be lighted also separately. Altogether, about 500 lights were installed.
The extensive lighting was accomplished using twelve large, decorative light structures situated in different parts of the park. Details were created with textiles designed by set decorator Samuli Halla. One aspect of the production was a soundscape based on Finlandia Hymn, produced by sound designer Heikki Savolainen together with Kari Kola.
The Töölönlahti installation opened Luminous Finland 100, a series of six light art productions, whose five other parts will be put up from 28.11.-6.12.2017. The locations of the other productions will be Olavinlinna Castle in Savonlinna, Näsinneula Observation Tower in Tampere, Kuusisaari Island in Oulu and Saana Mountain in Kilpisjärvi. Luminous Finland 100 will reach its peak at Turku Castle on Finnish Independence Day 6 December. The idea is to light up “the whole country”.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
10/2016 MAGICAL GARDEN, GLOW FESTIVAL, EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS
Light Artist Kari Kola developed a new edition of a 360-degree light artwork titled ‘Magical Garden’ specifically for the GLOW Light Art Festival in the Netherlands. For this edition of the artwork, he deliberately chose a bleak parking area as its location. By utilizing light art and soundscape — an analogy of sound and landscape indicating an acoustic environment — he transformed the parking area into a magical wonderland.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
9/2016 MAGICAL GARDEN, LUMINA LIGHT ART FESTIVAL, CASCAIS, PORTUGAL
Magical Garden was a 360-degree light installation and it was placed in a unique setting in the park Marechal Carmona. The park was transformed into a magical wonderland with a soundscape and light art. Magical Garden was part of the LUMINA Light Art Festival from 8 - 11th September 2016, in Cascais, Portugal.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
3/2016 OPENING AND THE CLOSING CEREMONIES
OF THE ARCTIC WINTER GAMES 2016 NUUK, GREENLAND
Light Artist Kari Kola illuminated the Opening and the Closing Ceremonies of the Arctic Winter Games 2016 in Nuuk, Greenland. The Opening Ceremony theme for the glamorous 2-hour program was ”Our Home – Your Home”. The show emphasized commonality, curiosity and courage.
Light design
01/2016 COLOR PARK, LUX HELSINKI FESTIVAL, HELSINKI, FINLAND
Light artwork Color Park was a part of the Lux Helsinki light festival from the 6th to the 10th of January, 2016. The piece was located in the Old Church Park on Bulevardi Street in Helsinki — Color Park invited people to play with light.
In Color Park the audience can switch the color of the illuminated details of the artwork through several interactive movements and distance sensors.
Concept / Light design
11/2015 FUUSIO, VALOA OULU FESTIVAL, OULU, FINLAND
In an artwork of light called FUUSIO (Fusion) two significant cultural buildings in Oulu, City Theatre and City Library, were transformed into one unified ensemble of light art in which light responds to the movement of people.
In this piece, Kola uses strong colors and contrasts but its tempo is tranquil. The trees between the buildings are colored with static lights. A gentle, nearly ethereal ambient soundscape binds together the whole artwork. In addition to this, Kari Kola will illuminate the City Theatre tower with lighting depicting the Aurora Borealis. The light art ensemble is meditative by its nature.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
11/2015 LIGHT IS HERE, ISTANBUL LIGHT FESTIVAL, ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Light Is Here was the main piece at Istanbul Light Festival in Turkey. It has a lot of nordic symbolism: cool color tones help to create the Aurora Borealis and a mystic northern landscape. This piece is located in an interesting and unique geographical setting - Istanbul is the only city in the world that stands on two continents. Work can be viewed from both Europe and Asia.
Zorlu Center is the second-largest shopping center in Europe. Light Is Here requires nearly 700 light fixtures for its production. To complement the piece of art, there is a multi-channel soundscape composed by Kari Kola and Kimmo Perkkiö (SF Sound Ltd.) especially for Light Is Here.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
10/2015 MAGICAL GARDEN, SIGNAL FESTIVAL, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
Magical Garden was implemented in a unique setting, on the island of Shooters, in the middle of the Vltava river. The park-like island was turned into a magical wonderland via soundscape and light art.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
5/2015 PARK GEOMETRICA, LIGHTING GUERRILLA, LJUBLANA, SLOVENIA
A light art ensemble, Park Geometrica, was executed for Lighting Guerrilla Festival. It was generated in cooperation with four educational institutions in Ljubljana, Slovenia. This ensemble of light consisted of 25 different artworks.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
5/2015 NORDIC WAVE, VISUALIA FESTIVAL, PULA, CROATIA
This piece of light art was actualized at Visualia Festival, Croatia. The slow-tempo movement of the lights and the serene soundscape created a meditative, unwinding atmosphere. The artwork consisted solely of cold color tones to vivify the northern mindset of the Valerij Park. The soundscape incorporated a female vocalist and the traditional national instrument, kantele, the Finnish zither.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
3/2015 WINNER’S JOURNEY, BIATHLON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS OPENING CEREMONY, JOENSUU, FINLAND
Winner’s Journey was an opening show for the 2015 Biathlon World Championships that combined a variety of art forms. This performance narrates the story of the biathlete -the time before, during, and after the race. The music of the piece was composed solely for the show and it was realized by light, dance, aerial acrobatics, projecting and pyrotechnics.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
1/2015 LIGHT IS HERE, UNESCO YEAR OF LIGHT OPENING CEREMONY, PARIS, FRANCE
Light Is Here was a 360° work of art made of light. Its inspiration stemmed from the Aurora Borealis and the sunrise. The walls of Unesco headquarters were illuminated by altering both cool and warm color tones.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director / Music composition
9/2014 FOUR ELEMENTS, LUMINA FESTIVAL DA LUZ, CASCAIS, PORTUGAL
An absorbing journey designed for the Lumina Light Festival in Cascais, Portugal. Four Elements was an immersive show that led the spectators along a route that crossed the entire Citadel of Cascais, including a 360º projection area. Taking the four elements as a starting point, the facades of the buildings became the stage of virtual dancers that humanized them by interacting with the architecture. Artistic direction by Nuno Maya (Ocubo, Portugal), original sound composition by Sylvain Moreau (France), and lights by me.
Light Design/ Co-operation with Ocubo (Nuno Maya: videos, Sylvain Moreau: sound)
8/2014 NORDIC LIGHT, JOENSUU, FINLAND
Nordic Light was an interdisciplinary spectacle of arts concluding a grand tour of young Nordic artists in the Nordic countries. The young artists represented the fields of dance, music, theatre, visual arts and circus and each of these groups had 15 young artists from the Nordic countries. The spectacle took place on the lagoon of the isle of Ilosaari, situated in the middle of Pielisjoki river in the city center of Joensuu, Finland. Based on the material gathered from the tour workshops, the leaders of each field of art directed a multi-artistic show combined with my light art. The tour was the largest youth event arranged in the Nordic countries.
Light design / Technical Director
9/2013 SHADOWS OF THE RIVER, THE CITY OF LIGHT, JYVÄSKYLÄ, FINLAND
The main installation for the annual City of Light Festival in Jyväskylä, Finland. Shadows of the River was then one of the largest environmental lighting pieces done in Finland, the lit area was almost one kilometer in length. The installation also featured a multi-channel soundscape. There were about 20 000 spectators for the piece.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
9/2013 NORDIC ELEMENTS, LUMINA FESTIVAL DA LUZ, CASCAIS, PORTUGAL
Nordic Elements was an environmental lighting piece that lit a large park in the city center of Cascais. The artwork formed a route through which the visitors could walk from one part of the installation to the next. There were about 500 000 people that experienced this work of art for three evenings. In addition to lighting, the installation featured several soundscapes and a dancer.
Concept / Light design / Sound design / Technical Director
9/2012 CATHEDRAL OF LIGHT, THE CITY OF LIGHT, JYVÄSKYLÄ, FINLAND
The main artwork of light for the City of Light Festival in Jyväskylä, Finland - the northernmost LUCI (Lighting Urban Community International) member. Cathedral of Light was the largest piece of light art ever created in Jyväskylä. Among other things, the artwork introduced a 25-minute-long opening show that consisted of 50 dancers with 100 torches, pyrotechnics, a percussionist playing the church bells and a soundscape composed especially for the event.
Concept / Light design / Artistic Leader / Technical Director
10/2012 WATER TOWER, VALOISA PIRKANMAA, TAMPERE, FINLAND
The main installation for the Luminous Pirkanmaa Light Festival in Tampere, Finland. The idea was, by utilizing lights, to create an illusion to make the tallest building in Finland, the 168-meter Näsinneula tower, look even higher than it already is. The result was the highest light art piece in the Nordic countries.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
12/2011 BRIDGE OF LIGHT, EUROPEAN CULTURE CAPITAL, TURKU, FINLAND
The concluding ceremony of the Year of European Culture Capital Turku, Finland. The size of the lit area was seven hectares, making it the largest light installation ever created in Finland. In addition to the art of light, the spectacle included aerial acrobatics and dancers and, in the end, the Aurajoki river in the city center was set on fire.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
8/2011 ALVILDA IN ABO OPERA, EUROPEAN CULTURE CAPITAL, TURKU CASTLE, FINLAND
8/2011 HENRIK JA NOITAVASARA OPERA, EUROPEAN CULTURE CAPITAL, TURKU CASTLE, FINLAND
Technical Director
2010-2011 LIVING MINE, OUTOKUMPU COPPER MINE, OUTOKUMPU, FINLAND
A jubilee celebration for the 100th anniversary of finding ore set in an old, closed mine in Outokumpu, Finland. In 2010, only lighting and soundscape were applied and, in 2011, to build on the previous year’s work, dance and pyrotechnics were incorporated into the piece. The idea behind these pieces was to open the mining area for cultural use.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director
2011-2020 SCIFEST, JOENSUU, FINLAND
An annual, international science, environment and technological festival arranged by the University of Eastern Finland and Joensuu Science Society. SciFest takes place in the largest wooden building in Finland – Joensuu Areena.
Light design / Technical Director
2/2010 HURTTA, POIKETA RY, JOENSUU, FINLAND.
The biggest outdoor spectacle in Finland included 70 dancers, 32 skaters and 10 actors. The set and the stage consisted of 1,2 million kilos (2,87 million pounds) of snow and ice. The 2000 spectators were treated with 8.1 surround sound that was composed especially for the event. There were very large pyrotechnical effects included in the show. The temperature was minus 28 degrees Celsius (minus 18 degrees Fahrenheit) during the building of the event.
Light design / Technical Director
8/2007 AUTUMN COLORS, ILOSAARI, JOENSUU, FINLAND
A light installation, about one hectare in size, on the isle of Ilosaari, Joensuu. The theme of the piece stemmed from the darkness of autumn nights and the colors of nature that appear as the summer fades away.
Concept / Light design / Technical Director