EINDHOVEN – GLOW has announced the winner of the very first GLOW Talent Call. Through this new open call, the light art festival invited creatives from the Brainport region to develop an original light installation for GLOW 2026. Following a live pitch session featuring four shortlisted concepts, the jury selected GLOW Dance Collective by Jolie Smets and Robin van Soelen from Helmond and Eindhoven as the winning project.

With the GLOW Talent Call, GLOW aims to support emerging regional talent and creative minds who may not have a professional background in light art, but who bring forward bold and innovative ideas. The call was open to residents across the Brainport region of all ages and disciplines — from makers, designers and students to local associations, community initiatives and creative thinkers.

As a festival deeply rooted in the region, GLOW is created for, by and with the community. Each year, a wide range of partners, artists, schools, companies, students, volunteers and residents contribute to the festival. Through the Talent Call, GLOW is expanding this collaboration even further, giving new creative voices the opportunity to realise their ideas together with the festival as part of the official GLOW light art route.

Last week, the four selected finalists presented their concepts to a professional jury. The submissions were evaluated on originality, their connection to this year’s theme Connect, suitability for the festival, and the overall visitor experience within the context of the route and audience flow. Feasibility, production potential and alignment with the available budget were also key factors in the assessment.

The jury ultimately chose GLOW Dance Collective by Jolie Smets and Robin van Soelen. Their interactive installation invites visitors to move together and experience connection in a playful and engaging way.

The other shortlisted concepts were:

• Andrés Lozano Ruiz, Piet Schmidt and Shao-Chun Hsu with All Connected
• Kim & Mylène Cressent-Weijland with Light, Wind, Voices
• Jeroen Ermens with Pulse of Connection

GLOW would like to thank everyone who submitted an idea and expresses its appreciation to all finalists for their innovative concepts. According to the jury, the final decision was a challenging one due to the high quality of the pitches and the diverse interpretations of the theme.

The jury consisted of Philip Ross (Director of GLOW), Gijsje Broekmans (Producer & Curator at GLOW), Sabine Swinkels (GLOW Talent Development), Jurgen Buurman (representing ASML), and Anneke van Wolfswinkel (journalist and culture editor at Eindhovens Dagblad).

The winning project will be further developed in collaboration with GLOW over the coming months and will be presented on the GLOW route in Helmond from 7 to 14 November 2026.