CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL LIGHT ART

WEBSITE: WWW.LICHTKUNST-UNNA.DE
LOCATION: LINDENPL. 1, 59423 UNNA, GERMANY
NEAREST AIRPORTS: ESSEN OR DÜSSELDORF AIRPORT, 1HOUR AND 20MINS DRIVE

The Centre of International Light Art (CILA) is the only museum dedicated to exhibiting exclusively Light Art. And as it turns out, there is quite a lot of it. The museum is in a 19th century former beer brewery and utilises the underground spaces of the original building for its light installations, creating a labyrinth of immersive experiences.

There is a permanent collection featuring site-specific works to fit the architecture by Oliafur Eliasson, James Turrell, Mario Merz and Joseph Kosuth, to name but a few (and my favourite). The temporary exhibitions give good reason to return to Unna that is otherwise rather unremarkable.

Eager to promote and encourage the use of light as an art form, the museum has launched an annual award. It is targeted at more emerging artists from around the globe and as part of the prize, the winner is offered the opportunity to exhibit at the museum, alongside the permanent displays by the more renown artists.

It is compulsory to use one of the guides for a tour and it takes around 90 minutes to complete the circuit. The two Turrell installations are cited by the museum as the highlights of the collection, but I would argue for the Eliasson. He uses strobe lighting to make it look like it is showering diamonds down the edge of a corridor. I could spend hours staring at the effect which is genius for its simplicity.