When the sun goes down in Broward County this February, the lights come on—brighter, bolder, and more immersive than ever.
From February 13–22, IGNITE Broward returns for its fifth year, transforming parks, museums, and unexpected public spaces into glowing stages for contemporary art, sound, and technology. Free and family-friendly, the 10-day festival spans four locations and features more than 25 installations by local, national, and international artists—making this year’s edition the most ambitious to date.
Presented by the Broward County Cultural Division and produced by MAD Arts, IGNITE Broward has quickly become one of South Florida’s most anticipated cultural events. More than 80,000 visitors attended last year, drawn by the festival’s unique ability to merge cutting-edge technology with accessible, public-facing art.
At its core, IGNITE Broward is about encounter—between people and place, art and environment. Large-scale projection mapping, interactive light sculptures, sound-based works, and live performances invite visitors to move through spaces they think they know and experience them anew. This year also introduces a showcase of emerging local artists from the MAD Art & Tech Studio Program, underscoring the festival’s commitment to cultivating homegrown creative talent.
Among the most anticipated returning artists is Daniel Popper, whose new work Mycelia explores themes of interconnection and shared consciousness through a towering, projection-mapped figure inspired by fungal networks. Crafted in wood and fiberglass, the piece blends the organic and the technological, offering a quietly powerful meditation on humanity’s relationship with nature.
International voices are equally present. Italian new-media collective Onda Studio brings Where Are We Going?, an interactive installation powered by 5G technology from Total Wireless. Participants engage instantly via QR code, blurring the line between viewer and artwork while prompting reflection on collective direction in an increasingly tech-driven world.
Other highlights include inflatable light sculptures by national collective Pneuhaus, experimental Super 8 film loops by Phil Evans, and works by Barcelona-based film collective Dostoopos. Transdisciplinary artist Ana María Caballerocontributes Pace, a layered audiovisual work blending dance, AI-generated environments, and poetry.
The festival unfolds across four distinct sites, each offering its own atmosphere and rhythm. MAD Arts serves as the epicenter, presenting more than 13 installations alongside workshops, performances, and screenings inside its immersive art-and-technology campus. In Fort Lauderdale, Reverend Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park becomes a luminous landscape, with installations reflected across water, courts, and open green space adjacent to the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center.
IGNITE Broward also extends into everyday transit through installations at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where pre- and post-security works invite travelers into moments of wonder between arrivals and departures. In Hollywood, ArtsPark at Young Circle hosts a dynamic circuit of interactive installations through the city’s public art initiative, turning the circular park into a glowing communal hub.
Special events punctuate the festival, including an indoor media preview on February 11 and a kickoff celebration on February 13, complete with a live performance by BREAKINMIA at Reverend Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park. Each night brings a slightly different energy—families early in the evening, creatives and night owls lingering after dark.
What sets IGNITE Broward apart is not just its scale, but its philosophy. By keeping the festival free and rooted in public space, it invites curiosity without barrier and transforms art from something observed into something shared. Streets, parks, and terminals become gathering places; technology becomes a bridge rather than a divide.
In a region known for sunlit days, IGNITE Broward has quietly claimed the night—reminding us that some of the most meaningful connections happen when the lights come on.
IGNITE Broward runs February 13–22. For a full schedule, locations, and special events, visit ignitebroward.com and follow @BrowardArts.
