Hard at work at the Inner Harbor. Preparations are underway to transform the 1.5-miles from Rash Field to Harbor East into Light City Baltimore.
"We will have 23 large-scale light, art installations right here around the Inner Harbor," said Megan Bosse with the Baltimore Office of Promotions & the Arts
With opening night one week away, artists and crews are busy setting up and constructing their illuminated art. There will be colorful sculptures, video projections and interactive displays from artists here in Charm City and all over the world.
"The site will be activated with performance art and interactive installations that basically investigate what gives people light," said Ada Pinkston, an artist with LabBodies.
The artwork is called Light Happenings II.
Last year, the group of artists were part of Neighborhood Lights and had an installation in Station North. This time around, the work builds on examining tragic events in the past.
"Each performance artist will be creating a work, a body of work, a piece of work that investigates moments in American history that relate to contemporary issues of race, class, gender and equity," Pinkston said.
A visual design on the suspension bridge next to the aquarium takes 24-thousand feet of rope, and a whole week to build. It's called Our House and it the concept is unique to this space, using the bridge and anchor points already here to construct the artwork.
"That is the tricky part, it's not just putting up a rope, it's a whole geometric construction that grows into each other," said Belgium Artist Tom Dekyvere.
He says no two ropes are touching to create the forms, it's just knots and loops.
The installation is meant to explore the deeper layers of reality and the mind.
"Nature versus digitization, organic forms versus geometrical forms, the friction between emotional thoughts and rational thinking for example, yes that's what this work is all about," Dekyvere said.
Last year, Light City Baltimore brought more then 400,000 people to Charm City, and had an economic impact of around $33.8-million.
The free festival kicks off March 31st and runs through April 8th.
