HelloVidék: It seems that the dates of the light festival have been written into their calendars in almost every local, but also in the surrounding and wider circles. I didn’t do it any differently. What could be the key to the success of the light festival?

Pusker Péter: The success of the Zsolnay Light Festival is most likely due to its uniqueness, there is no truly meaningful light experience in Hungary. Another component of the success may be that the festival has been delicately balanced from the beginning with content that is easy to digest, audience-friendly and needs to be more immersive, it can be enjoyed, but it also gives deep thoughts to our visitors. Equally important is the fact that downtown Pécs creates an ideal location for everything, and the works shown here are composed for these spaces. The components of the recipe could be analyzed at length, and the street art and music programs that are an integral part of the festival also add a lot to the complex experience for the masses of a modern art festival. its novelty also gave a huge impetus, as it is the first and still the only light festival in Hungary.

HV: How do you manage to maintain and renew the festival’s programs from year to year?

PP: The result of conscious work is all that we do not leave the compilation of content to chance, we work with experienced cultural professionals and projection technology specialists to design the programs. Hungarian artists are very strong, and our returning artists are of outstanding quality on a global scale, and the event is becoming increasingly international.

HV: What is the number of visitors we can talk about?

PP: In four days, the festival has 80,000 visitors, we are happy to have a forced break due to a pandemic, after a year of skipping, we have continued where we left off.

HV: What does this mean for guest nights in and around Pécs?

PP: The accommodation in Pécs is practically full, but we think the area can still accommodate the public.

HV: The event apparently supports local producers. Why is this important for organizers, how does this team “come together” and what types of providers apply?

PP: The festival was created with the aim of having a national summer event in Pécs that can be reached nationally and can be interpreted internationally. We would not set our goals if we did not base ourselves as much as possible on what was given locally, we would consciously work with as many local suppliers and partners as possible.

HV: Is it an important question to confirm the event with economic actors?

PP: For the sake of sustainability, it would be important to turn to the actors of the economy with even greater awareness, but we don’t have to complain based on our results so far, we can cooperate with returning sponsors, and their number is growing year by year.

HV: But what does it mean for the tourism of Pécs at the light festival held every year?

PP: This is one of, if not the most significant events in Pécs, whose reputation is growing year by year. During the festival, the city is full, many people are already booking their accommodation for the Festival of Light in the winter and adjusting their holiday accordingly, so it has significant tourism potential. We hope to be an increasingly secure point for many in this regard, with a clear goal that the festival will not only have a positive impact on for a few days in the future.

HV: What international threads are involved in the event?

PP: Our recognition is also growing in terms of art, which gives us more and more visions all over Europe. The works shown here are also unique in the world, many premieres take place at an event, all of which appear as very virulent content on the World Wide Web, much less to reach new villages as well. Performers and foreign light artists at all times the festival’s good reputation. The Zsolnay Light Art International Light Painting Competition is nominated from many continents, including the top ten productions from Japan, France, Spain and Ecuador. We also rely on foreign performers in the field of new productions, we are placing different countries “light professionally” in the focus of the festival, as a kind of “light ambassador”. In 2019, our guest was Finland, and this year our guest was Croatia. So it really is an absolutely international festival.

HV: What are your plans for next year?

PP: As we close this year, preparations for the next event have already begun. By placing the transforming power of art in a stronger light, we can have a better impact on our audience. We want to evolve without growing out of ourselves, remaining a comfortable and safe festival. If we need to, we’d rather change our programs, but we don’t want to erode our values. This may seem unusual in today’s ever-foaming world, but we are not aiming to achieve the starry sky, but to retain the experience that may be associated with us right now.

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