If you thought Company's Garden was only for quiet strolls and lunchtime picnics, think again.
For the next four nights, it’s transforming into a glowing playground of light, sound, and imagination as LUMENOCITY takes over the iconic historical space.
Running from today, April 9, to Sunday, April 12, the festival is turning one of Cape Town’s most familiar green spaces into a fully immersive after-dark experience — where art, technology, and storytelling collide.
Once the sun sets, the garden sheds its daytime calm and comes alive with light installations, interactive exhibits, and large-scale projections that invite visitors to step in, touch, play, and explore.
At the heart of the festival is a celebration of creativity and collaboration, with local artists working together to produce displays that quite literally light up the city.
Beyond the spectacle, LUMENOCITY forms part of a broader push to re-energise the CBD, in partnership with The Mission for Inner City Cape Town.
Speaking at the media launch, Founder Gareth Hadden said the idea for the lighting festival has been more than a decade in the making, inspired by similar events abroad but driven by a desire to bring something more interactive to Cape Town, where visitors don’t just observe installations but physically engage with them.
“I’ve visited a few around the world, and it was frustrating that nothing of this scale and interactivity existed here in the city. I had this vision of people walking up to installations and really engaging with them, touching them, moving with them. You can go up to the trees, play with Mobius, or step into the Halo Chamber, and it responds to you,” he said.
Director of Advancement at the Iziko Museum of South Africa, Phumzile Zonke, said LUMENOCITY arrived at a pivotal moment for the Iziko Museum of South Africa, which is over 200 years old.
“We are reimagining ourselves and our spaces, and we want to embrace activities and innovations like what LUMENOCITY is bringing to our shores.
“We see this as a valuable partnership that will grow for many years. As an institution, we are expanding our horizons and embracing creativity. We are embracing innovation; we want to attract younger audiences, and we want to make sure that there's new energy, new vibrance in all our spaces,” he said.
Standout installations include the Halo Chamber, a towering, fully interactive circular LED column that conceals a hidden 5 x 5 metre cave of living light, and the Beam of Hope, a powerful vertical light installation that rises from the city centre, illuminating the night sky and signalling the presence of LUMENOCITY across Cape Town.
Tickets are available at Quicket.
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