Public presentation
Photographs showing the projected work, its architectural setting, spatial composition and audience experience.
Research · Documentation · Digital Art
Light Memories
A research and documentation initiative for projection mapping and digital light art.
Light Memories is developed by Tanya Mitkova through Art Stylus, in connection with her doctoral research on the documentation and preservation of ephemeral digital art.
Start a conversation
01 / The initiative
Preserving more than the final image
Projection mapping transforms architecture through light, moving image and sound. It is experienced in a particular place and time, then disappears. A final video may preserve the visible result, but it rarely retains the full creative, technical and social context.
Light Memories brings together photographs, contextual records, metadata and first-hand knowledge that can support the future understanding of these ephemeral works.
02 / Research focus
Each work is approached as a situated event – a relationship between image, architecture, sound, technology and audience.
03 / Documentation
What can be shared
Light Memories welcomes contact from artists, studios, organisers, photographers, technical teams, researchers and audience members with relevant material or first-hand knowledge.
Process and production
Working photographs from preparation, installation, calibration, testing, rehearsal and technical collaboration.
Context and interpretation
Information about the work, site, visual sources, sound, participants and decisions considered important by those involved.
Metadata and provenance
Authorship, dates, locations, credits, rights information and embedded IPTC/XMP metadata that help records remain identifiable.
04 / Collaboration
Documentation begins with dialogue
A first contact can be as simple as a short message, a conversation or a small selection of preview images. Further documentation and possible uses are discussed individually.
Copyright remains with the photographer or rights holder. Nothing is published automatically. Credit, permissions, context and the form of any archival, research, educational or exhibition use are clarified with contributors.
Existing embedded metadata is treated as part of the photograph’s authorship, provenance and cultural context and is taken into account in any further documentation.
2026 DOCUMENTATION PERIOD
Share what stayed with you
1 October 2026-
31 January 2027
During this period, Light Memories is gathering photographic documentation of projection mapping and digital light art events held in 2026. Research enquiries and conversations are welcome throughout the year.
- If a projection mapping or digital light art event in 2026 stayed with you, we would be glad to see what caught your attention – the final projection, its relationship with the site, the audience experience, or a moment from the creative and production process.
- You can begin by sending a short description and up to three preview photographs. If available, please include the event, place, date, artists or studio, photographer credit and a relevant link. Existing embedded metadata is welcome.
If the material is relevant to the initiative, we will get in touch to learn more and discuss any further documentation or possible uses.
art@artstylus.com05 / Archive notes
A record in development
This section will gradually present selected documentation, contextual records and research notes developed through the initiative.
The archive is being formed through field observation, direct contact and individually agreed contributions.
06 / Researcher and platform
Tanya Mitkova
PhD student at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, researching the documentation and preservation of projection mapping and spatial projection art as forms of ephemeral digital art in the context of galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM).
Art Stylus
An independent digital platform based in Sofia, Bulgaria, exploring the relationships between cultural heritage, contemporary art, digital documentation and research.
07 / Contact
Start a conversation
If you have relevant documentation or first-hand knowledge, or would like to discuss a work, event or research question, you are welcome to get in touch.
Communication is welcome in English or Bulgarian.