Illuminate Us
Every year, the city of Boston is transformed into an immersive playground. Illuminus is a contemporary arts festival featuring site-specific, installation and performance art. In this episode, we speak with Jeff Grantz, Founder and Executive Director for the festival. Our conversation runs the gamut—from curiosity to community, and ultimately what it takes to shape the cultural identity of a place. And through it, we realize that a nighttime arts festival isn’t just a party… it’s a catalyst for change on many levels.
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Key Insights & Takeaways
The festival is a vehicle for transformation for both attendees and artists.
Both audiences experience an uptick in “possibility.”
For attendees, they encounter unexpected experiences in their own streets and realize that their city and community can be so much more than they originally thought.
An unexpected surprise encounter leads to curiosity, which in turn leads to an openness to new possibilities or ideas.
For artists, they also realize that they are capable of creating something that they might not have originally thought possible. Some artists likely experience an emotional arc of vulnerability that ultimately leads to empowerment and confidence.
Another result for many artists is that they often meet and collaborate with artists that they might not have otherwise interacted with. This multidisciplinary collaboration further increases the chances that they create something they could not have created on their own.
Urban design techniques, such as visual/auditory beacons, help influence where specific artworks are placed and how people navigate the streets.
The designed layout and programming of the festival nudge large crowds to gather in dense areas so that they can experience spectacle moments collectively.
The festival is curated with a balance of both spectacle moments and quieter, more intimate moments. These allow for an ebb and flow of energy levels. They also provide enough time for reflection and reset between moments.
Jeff’s approach to the festival was to co-create it with the community itself. This not only leads to a festival that is more representative of the communities within it, but also leads to a community that is more invested in its vision. So a question for us to all live into is how do we align people in our community around a shared interest?
About our guest
Jeff Grantz is the director of Creative Technologies at Design Communications, Ltd in Boston. He is the former owner and director of the creative technology studio Materials & Methods, as well as founder of Boston's Nighttime Contemporary Arts Festival "Illuminus." Jeff attended the Rhode Island School of Design where he later taught in the departments of Industrial Design, Interior Architecture, and Foundation Studies. A bastion of internal conflict, multidisciplinary designer, creative technologist, and corporate provocateur – Jeff has spent the last 20 years avoiding any particular field or focus, but is an expert seeker of creative pursuits, enhancer of human experience, excels in bi-directional candle burning, and using business development as an excuse to have drinks with friends.
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