When the Broward County Cultural Division began its free IGNITE Broward festival in 2022, it featured works by just five artists. Now, in its fourth year, it has grown to more than 24 local, national and international artists and will take place over ten days as compared to its previous five. This year’s festival begins Friday, Feb. 14 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 23.
There is also more variation in the types of art that make up the programming, according to Phillip Dunlap, director of the Broward County Cultural Division with immersive large-scale projection mapping, music performances, interactive light sculptures, installations and sound-based experiences.
“We hope that people who attend the festival will see that art is approachable – that art is fun and engaging,” says Dunlap, who describes IGNITE as a playground of art that invites people to participate.
The festival has also expanded from two cities, Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach, to three with the addition of Hollywood.
“We’re celebrating the centennial anniversary of the city of Hollywood and are super excited that the city has partnered with us,” says Sofia Bastidas, curator at Mad Arts. “Hollywood is a city that has always been very invested in artists so it’s no surprise that they are the first one joining us.”
Festival events will be held at Esplanade Park and Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale, Mad Arts in Dania Beach and ArtsPark at Young Circle, Hollywood.
Pivotal to the mission of IGNITE is also showcasing and promoting local talent throughout the festival. Featured artist Nika Dotsenko, who is known as CHROLIK, is a May 2024 FIU graduate who describes herself as a spatial-experience designer. She explains that spatial-experience designers are artists who blend components of architecture, interior design and media art technology to create immersive and emotionally engaging environments. CHROLIK, whose work focuses on providing a multi-sensory experience, appreciates the commitment of the Broward Cultural Division and Mad Arts to helping develop and promote local artists.
“I think it’s important that local artists are also being shown . . .,” says CHROLIK, who wants “to be able to communicate to people that might not fully understand what it’s like to live in South Florida.”
Other local artists at IGNITE 2025 include the Miami visual and performance art duo Liz Ferrer and Bow Ty, known as LIZN’BOW, who will be at the Hollywood site. Fort Lauderdale-based artist Rosana Kalis, a Korean-American artist who works primarily with large-scale murals, paintings and custom designs, Aimee Rubensteen and Josh Eisenberg’s MyFi Studio, a South Florida performance duo who build their own instruments for their performances, and CHROLIK will all be featured at Mad Arts in Dania Beach and Hollywood artist Charles Alan Rye will exhibit an interactive video installation at Esplanade Park.
With a commitment by IGNITE organizers that the festival be accessible, admission is once again free to the public.
“One of the great things about IGNITE is that it puts art largely in public open spaces and technology is a medium that we’re really familiar with, says Dunlap. “So I think it meets people more where they’re at, and it provides an artistic experience at a very high quality, but in a very fun and engaging way.
Marc Aptakin, CEO and founder of Mad Arts, says that IGNITE Broward is not the museum experience people usually associate with viewing art.
“This is not a traditional museum environment where you can’t touch the artwork,” he says. “You can come and learn about things. And ask questions and just have fun. That’s something that we try and push at every location—this is meant to be fun.”
The festival, which had 18,000 participants last year, according to Dunlap, is largely attended by people who aren’t the usual art goer, says Aptakin.
“We really try to make them feel welcome at the festival and to help them learn about the art in any way they want to learn about it,” says Aptakin. “And if you can convert seven or 10 percent of them into being fans of this type of art, we’ve done our job at that point. (We’ve shown) that it can be fun.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT :
IGNITE Broward Festival
WHERE:
Esplanade Park and Riverwalk, Fort Lauderdale, 400 SW 2nd St., Fort Lauderdale
Mad Arts, Dania Beach, 481 S. Federal Hwy, Dania Beach
ArtsPark at Young Circle, Hollywood, 1 N. Young Circle, Hollywood
WHEN:
Friday, Feb. 14 to Sunday, Feb. 23
Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood locations: Weekday hours are from dusk to 10 p.m.,
with extended hours until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Dania Beach: Noon to 10 p.m.
TICKETS:
Free, but
reservation suggested
INFORMATION:
IGNITEBroward.com
