Holland, artist leaves an entire city in the dark to show her the stars

“Everyone should have the right to see the stars.” This is the starting point for the performance that Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde (Nieuwkoop, 1979), founder of Studio Roosegaarde, which specializes in projects that merge technology and art in cities, put on last December 14 in the town of Franeker, a historic village in Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands. Titled Seeing Stars and carried out in collaboration with the Dutch UNESCO committee, the performance left the town of 13,000 inhabitants in the dark for one night to allow its residents to see the stars. The idea, Roosegaarde explained, was to create a sense of connection between the town and the stars, “something we missed during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The performance took place with a controlled shutdown of all city lights andnonessential lighting. By removing this city-scale light pollution, Seeing Stars allowed everyone to reconnect with the universe and relive the magic of starlight. Indeed, the performance started from the premise that more than 80 percent of the world’s population lives under skies polluted by artificial light, a barrier that prevents us from admiring the beauty of the universe. So the goal of Seeing Stars was to create a sense of connection, not only with our community, but also with our planet. And now Roosegaarde’s intent is to take the project to other cities: names have been mentioned for Leiden, Sydney, Venice, Stockholm and Reykjavik.

“Looking at the stars,” said Kathleen Ferrier, chair of the Dutch UNESCO committee, “makes you feel connected to others, because we are all part of the immense cosmos. This is the common and universal legacy that I strive for. And Seeing Stars is an important step forward.”

“Everyone is in their own little bubble, disconnected from each other,” Daan Roosegaarde pointed out. “I realized that every night there is actually an incredible performance of light hidden high in our sky. Seeing Stars brings the stars back into your path. The stars are just ... a switch away.”

“I am proud to have turned off all the lights in our city, to see the stars and to feel connected to others,” said Marga Waanders, mayor of Franeker.

Holland, artist leaves an entire city in the dark to show her the stars

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