Stunning Náměstí Miru video mapping to open Signal Festival a day early

A spectacular video mapping across the facade of the Basilica of St. Ludmila at Náměstí Miru will kick off this year's Signal Festival which is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Videomapping returns to the church after a four-year hiatus.

The Signal Festival opening will take place on Náměstí Míru on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022 from 7 p.m. But fans of light art and electronic music will be treated to a sneak preview of the event on Oct. 12 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. when the festival launches an interactive countdown clock along with an early video mapping on the basilica.

The festival's ceremonial opening event is intended to symbolize the transfer of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union to Czechia. The projection is designed by the French visual collective AV Extended with music by Czech music producer Aid Kid.

The initial video mapping of this Prague 2 landmark was one of the most popular installations in the festival's history, according to organizers. It's particularly poignant this year as the neo-Gothic cathedral was recently elevated by Pope Francis to a basilica, the sixteenth in the Czech Republic.

"Náměstí Míru is the heart of Signal Festival. It even inspired this year's festival visual...this year's Signal Festival is, on the whole, an imaginary celebration of our first decade. We are therefore happy that after four years we are returning to náměstí Míru and bringing a great projection, on which in addition, Czech and French artists collaborated," said festival director Martin Pošta.

Additional Signal Festival highlights in 2022 include two new festival routes in the city center and Vinohrady/Vršovice neighborhoods. A total of 15 installations will be on display. Pošta says that the festival will install the largest gallery zone in its history along the Vinohrady/Vršovice route.

Large-format projection by Refik Anadol (CAMP), the hyper-realistic work of Ondřej Zunka (Kunsthalle Praha), a dynamic game of laser beams by the Japanese artist Shohei Fujimoto (Salvátor Church), theatrical performance by Laterna magika (St. Kateřiná gardens), an installation by the young Prague collective Tabula Rasa (Vršovice cultural center Vzlet) and a moving light installation by the French studio Collectif Scale (Herold orchards) are planned.

Note a Signal Plus ticket is needed to visit them.

Nine of the installations on the two routes can be seen for free, while six require tickets. This year for the first time there are also VIP tickets that allow early access and the ability to skip waiting in lines. Read more about the festival here.