Lichtspiele des Westens — Boulevard Heine

Neighborhood Festival with Light Art

Plagwitz and Lindenau in Leipzig's Westend are the city's most creative districts — old industrial architecture, a vibrant art scene, young cafés, bars, and workshops. Boulevard Heine, named after industrialist Karl Heine, is the quarter's central axis. The «Lichtspiele des Westens» uses this axis once a year for a deliberately accessible light festival: instead of a professional light installation like in many big cities, residents participate here. Anyone living or working in the neighborhood can decorate their window, courtyard, or shop with light art and become part of the festival.

Karl-Heine-Straße to Lindenauer Markt

The festival mile stretches along Karl-Heine-Straße — the main axis of Plagwitz, lined with old industrial buildings, workshops, galleries, and cafés. It leads from Felsenkeller / Schaubühne Lindenfels, past Werk II / Spinnerei, over to Lindenauer Markt with the Westbahnhof. Over a distance of about 2 kilometers, hundreds of small and large installations will be created on the festival evening — projections on gable walls, fairy lights on trees, shop window decorations, sculptures made of iron and light, illuminated paintings, ice installations.

Jury and Competition

A jury will roam the district during the festival evening and evaluate the residents' installations. Prizes will be awarded in several categories — most beautiful shop window, most beautiful courtyard installation, most beautiful gable wall projection, most creative light art. This competition component is intentional: it activates the neighborhood and ensures that the festival receives new contributions each year, rather than exhausting itself in a once-found format.

Schaubühne Lindenfels and Buchkinder

The cultural anchors of the festival are the Schaubühne Lindenfels (theater in Felsenkeller) and Buchkinder Leipzig e.V. (children's book publisher and association in Plagwitz). Both will open their doors and courtyards during the light show with their own programs — the Schaubühne with performances, small concerts, and readings, the Buchkindergarten with child-friendly light installations and craft activities. The BuchKindergarten on Karl-Heine-Straße has also been participating with its own contributions for years.

Leipzig's Westend — Creative District

Since the 2000s, Plagwitz and Lindenau in Leipzig's Westend have been the city's creative district. The Baumwollspinnerei (cotton mill) with its galleries (Eigen + Art) and artist studios, Werk II as a socio-cultural center, the Karl-Heine-Schule, the Karl-Heine-Kanal with the Plagwitz bridges, the Felsenkeller area — all this makes the district one of Leipzig's most vibrant corners. The Lichtspiele showcase the district in a completely different atmosphere than usual: quieter, more intimate, more festive. The festival has become part of the identity of the Westend.