2025 VIDEO MAPPING DATA ANALYSIS / 2025 年视频映射数据分析

Filip Roca - 1minute Projection Mapping Competition
/ GRAND PRIX video mapping awards 2025 IBISC

 

Another year goes by and we are still 5,389 fanatics of video mapping and competition on the Facebook group LIST OF INTERNATIONAL VIDEO MAPPING OPEN CALL & CONTEST 2026. 33 festivals shared their competition or open call in 2025, a figure equivalent to 2024. Thank you for trusting us to relay their calls on our page.

In 2025, there were 13 video mapping competitions. Competitions are falling slightly out of favour, with the trend shifting toward open calls or direct curation. This certainly allows artists to be properly compensated, and these are questions we ask ourselves every year, searching for a sustainable remuneration model for artists in this 'young art field'. However, it blocks the path for young artists and newcomers, who have fewer and fewer opportunities to showcase their talent and get noticed. Let's not forget that many of today's leading artists cut their teeth through competitions. In 2025, we discovered or rediscovered new talents from around the world: Henry hu (Singapore) / Metanoia Creative (Czech Republic) / Studio Moebius (India) and Roberto Photonic (Mexico). Three of them are finalists at the upcoming SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE Karlsruhe 2026, following remarkable appearances at other festivals last year.

New competitions have emerged : notably for amateurs (small prize pool) and students (León Light Fest in Mexico). The list of competitions and festivals covered by this Facebook group is not exhaustive. Many opportunities remain hidden in the depths of the web.

EUROPE

The classic European stops remain the Video Mapping Festival contest in Lille, won once again by a German, Hans Bolz, SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE Karlsruhe, the Zsolnay Fényfesztivál and Genius Loci Weimar.

Eastern Europe is also very active: with the return of LightUp Festival in Romania, a new edition of the LUNAR in Bulgaria, and a new competition with the Portal Festival driven by the artistic collective Elektrick.me. Eastern European artists Vali Chincișan and Ari Dykier are once again very present on several top three. Romania still hosts the IMAPP’s Winners League competition, won in 2025 by Elektrick.me (again !) from Bulgaria and by Belgian studio Glitch for the audience award. IMAPP continues to bring together winners from several international festivals, and now welcomes a second Asian representative alongside the 1minute-PM : the Jakarta Light Festival.

ASIA

Asia is therefore also very present on the international scene. Starting with China and its Chongqing Light Festival, and the presence of the Chinese artist SKG+ in nearly every competition, marking his strong return to the international stage. The competition is now called Asia Mapping Art Contest. Southeast Asian artists are joining forces through ALIGHT - A SOUTHEAST ASIAN LIGHT NETWORK CONFERENCE https://www.instagram.com/alight.asean/, with several gatherings held across different countries, including Thailand with Bangkok Design Week and Singapore Night Festival. An Asia-focused topic will also be proposed at IBSIC 2026 by Rencontres Audiovisuelles, moderated by Decide Kit. We are already well acquainted with the many festivals in Singapore and the various competitions in Malaysia (Warung Terang by Filamen), etc. Worth noting: the absence of the 2025 edition of 1minute-PM, but the team was also involved in organizing a mapping at the Osaka World Expo, bringing together video mapping artists from around the world. The competition returns on a new building in Tokyo in may 2026 : and it promises to be massive!

AMERICAS

And what can we say about the American continents, with its wealth of video mapping festivals stretching from San Francisco (Let’s Glow Festival) to upstate New York (LUMA festival ), by way of Cincinnati (Blink) and the beaches of Alys Beach Digital Graffiti. Mexico is no exception, with several new initiatives emerging in Puebla https://www.instagram.com/glowmxfest/, driven by the influence of GLOW Eindhoven, and Guadalajara set to gain a second festival, the MPPF MX, coming November. The Americas can also count on a mutual support network with The Mapping Society, initiated by Omar Serna, including a notably ambitious project for an itinerary video mapping museum. Let's not forget Festival de la Luz de Antigua in Guatemala, and the many festivals across Brazil (Guará Mapping Festival, Festa das Luzes de Joinville, etc.).

 

I'd like to close this brief annual analysis with a few questions. Beyond video mapping competitions, after scanning countless festivals and mappings around the world, we notice that we keep seeing artists with unmistakable styles : Julia Shamsheieva, Yann Nguema, The Fox The Folks, SKG+, Julian Hölscher , ruestungsschmie.de, Ari Dykier, Filip Roca (winner of the Mappings Awards 2025 in Lille), and V.P.M , among others. There is also new original proposal like live mapping where buildings serve as visual stages for DJs, as offered by Jérémie BELLOT and AV EXTENDED.

So the world of mapping is still buzzing, but is it managing to reinvent itself? To keep the magic alive for its audience? To claim its place in art history? Is there a lack of a press and art critics specialised in digital art, or women leaders in the field? The creation of a specialised video mapping press, to comment on results and analyse trends, seems an inevitable step in consolidating the structure of the video mapping industry.

Thank you all for keeping this informal community alive.

See you around the world,

Some informations are based on a previous article published in the book Image Beyond the Screen.

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