At a festival where music, technology, and artistic experimentation share the same platform, the visual environment carries responsibilities far beyond illuminating a performance. Each stage and surrounding space must accommodate its own purpose while remaining part of a larger festival experience.
For Andre Beekmans, Founder and Creative Director of The Art of Light, Sónar Festival 2026 presented an opportunity to apply that approach across several distinct areas of one of electronic music’s internationally recognized events.
Founded in Barcelona in 1994, Sónar has developed into an international festival dedicated to the intersection of music, creativity, and technology. Its programming brings together electronic music performances and creative disciplines, establishing a setting where technical production and artistic presentation operate alongside one another.
For the 2026 edition, The Art of Light was responsible for lighting design across multiple festival areas, including SonarClub, the festival’s largest performance area, SonarCar, and additional spaces such as the entrance and surrounding site infrastructure.
The assignment required different lighting considerations for each environment. While performance areas demanded designs suited to their respective programming, the broader festival grounds required a coordinated approach to lighting that supported the overall site.
At the center of the company’s involvement was Beekmans himself.
Serving as the on-site Lighting Designer, Andre Beekmans oversaw the implementation of The Art of Light’s designs throughout the festival’s construction and operational phases. His responsibilities included monitoring progress across the designated areas, providing instructions, making adjustments, and fine-tuning the lighting installations as the production developed.
This involvement extended the creative process beyond the initial design stage. By remaining present throughout construction and the festival itself, Beekmans was able to assess how the planned lighting translated into the physical environment and make the necessary refinements on-site.
The Art of Light’s contribution also involved additional technical specialists working across different aspects of the production.
Kasper Dijksterhuis served as Lighting Operator for SonarClub, while Jesper Lemmen was responsible for the on-site WYSIWYG visualization studio, supporting the technical preparation and development of the festival’s lighting environments.
Together, these roles demonstrate the range of expertise involved in delivering lighting across a festival of this scale, from design development and visualization to operation and on-site implementation.
For Beekmans, the project brought together several aspects of his professional work: creative lighting design, technical supervision, cross-disciplinary coordination, and the practical execution of complex festival installations.
Unlike a touring production built around a predetermined performance, a multi-area festival requires attention to several environments operating simultaneously, each with its own spatial characteristics and technical demands.
Sónar Festival 2026 therefore provided a setting in which Beekmans’ responsibilities extended across the broader production environment rather than a single performance or stage.
His involvement also reflects the scope of The Art of Light’s work within international live entertainment. Alongside concert productions and touring performances, the company continues to contribute to festival environments where creative direction must be supported by detailed technical planning and on-site execution.
With Andre Beekmans overseeing lighting implementation across multiple areas of Sónar Festival 2026, the project stands as a documented example of his direct involvement in the creative and technical delivery of a major international music event.
From the initial design work through construction, refinement, and festival operation, his responsibilities illustrate the relationship between developing a lighting concept and ensuring its successful execution within a complex live production.
Sónar Festival
Official Website: https://sonar.es/en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonarfestival/
Press Contact
Mina Amani
Head of PR | CCS Agency
Instagram: @ccspragency
