May 17

What’s Lumonics?

 

 

1.   Field Trips and Guided Tours for students of all ages of all ages

   
 
 
– From kindergarteners to seniors in assisted living (we are community partners with the Denver Public Schools Foundation) 
– For the developmentally challenged (we are community partners with Sample Supports)
– For people seeking a substance-free and sober experience (we are community partners with The Phoenix)
– For companies and organizations
 

2. Award-winning Lumonics Immersed on Fridays and Saturdays that originated in 1969 and continues to evolve, intended to energize and inspire attendees. 
 
 
 
 
3. Rental of Lumonics for private and public events
 
 
4. Lumonics Mind Spas that foster a state of relaxation and creativity:
For temporary or permanent private or public spaces. We welcome museum administrators, city planners, art consultants, architects, designers, and individuals to inquire. 
 
 
 
5. Art Classes at the Lumonics School of Light Art (students have ranged in age from 8 to 85, so far). We recommend the 6-hour class on a Sunday in which you take home your “artified” lighted cube. 
 
 
 


6.  Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery
The Gallery displays 75 light sculpture from a rotating collection of over 200 artworks by the late Dorothy and Mel Tanner.  11 light sculptures from the collection have been selected as limited editions, and all are on display at the Gallery. Your purchase helps support the Lumonics Legacy Project. 

 

7. Original Short Films presented at Lumonics Immersed

 

Marc Billard’s Mountain Meditation 2 will be premiering in 2026 at the Digerati Experimental Media Festival, and was selected by the DocuWest Documentary Film Festival 2026.

Mountain Meditation 2 will be playing in rotation with other selected festival films on the new LED screen located at 16th and Arapahoe in Downtown Denver. Screening begins September 1st  and ends November 30th, 2026.

The DocuWest Festival takes place November 12-15, 2026 at the Sie FilmCenter, Denver’s only independent movie theater.

 

May 06

Denver Fringe Festival 2026

 

 

Lumonics Immersed
Denver Fringe Festival
Thursday, June 4- Sunday, June 7

Lumonics is a multisensory immersive experience presented by one of the first and longest-running light art projects in the US. The late Light and Space artists Dorothy and Mel Tanner originated this highly-acclaimed transformative art experience in 1969, and it continues to evolve. Engage with 75 light sculptures in rotation from a collection of over 200 works. The elements of the experience are the light sculptures, music, special effects, and projection. Each performance is new and orchestrated live.

“Best Long-Running Immersive Experience”
– Denver Westword

 

Tickets are $20 and the price is set by The Denver Fringe Fest for all fetival tickets.

Thursday, June 4:   8 pm to 10 pm

Friday, June 5:   8 pm to 10 pm

Saturday, June 6:   1 pm to 3 pm

Saturday, June 6:   8 pm to 10 pm

Sunday, June 7:   1 to 3 pm

Sunday, June 7:   8 to 10 pm

 

 

 

 

Lumonics is honored to be accepted to participate in the 2026 Denver Fringe Festival that takes place June 4 thru June 7, 2026. 

We will be presenting performances of Lumonics Immersed  during those 4 days at the Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery. Each performance is orginal and not repeated.

The annual Fringe festival

Denver’s thriving arts scene is overflowing with talent and innovation. Our goal is to provide more outlets every year so artists to have a way to test their work, try new things, push the boundaries. And we want to channel that work into performance venues at accessible prices so that live performance is available to as many people as possible. We do this every June at our annual Fringe festival that features dozens of fresh, original shows at venues throughout the RiNo Art District, the greater Five Points area and beyond.

At the Denver Fringe Festival, we believe that the power of performance art can’t be overstated, that it’s a key component to inspiring thought-provoking conversations and building thriving communities. That’s why the Fringe also features free pop-up performances so everyone can experience live performing arts!

What does the future of the Denver Fringe look like? Picture a weeks-long festival with live performance taking place at dozens of creative spaces, with theater, comedy shows, dance, cabaret, and circus happening at any hour of the day or night —an annual performing arts festival so inclusive and expansive that we can’t imagine summer in Denver without it!
* excerpted from www.denverfringe.org/

* poster by Joe Palec

 

 

Apr 26

How We Create the Music and Visuals at Lumonics

The source material for the projection comes from an archive of imagery that late artists Dorothy and Mel Tanner originated at the Lumonics Light and Sound Theatre in Miami in 1969, and continues to this day in our performances of Lumonics Immersed here in Denver. The Tanners’ light sculptures also play an important role. We think of the art pieces as the “Lumonics Light Orchestra”.

 

Here are some of the components of the projection:

1. Hand-painted 35 mm slides by Dorothy and Mel Tanner, a process that began in 1969 in the original Lumonics Light and Sound Theatre in Miami, FL and ended upon Mel’s death in 1993. Hundreds of these slides are in our archives and have been digitized. Here are some examples:

 

 

2. Lumonics video productions from 1978 until present that included the late Dorothy Tanner, Mel Tanner, and engineer John Hall, and Marc Billard who continues the productions at Lumonics Immersed and orchestrates the Lumonics Light Orchestra live.

3. Colorado car rides and hikes, from urban to rural areas, which Marc Billard records and produces. Mountains, streams, forests, streets and roads are the source material. Marc then transforms the imagery in production, and adds an original soundtrack. We think of the finished productions as “alchemized nature films”. No AI is involved!

The photos below are examples of some of the source material.

 

These photos are of Marc Billard using his 360 camera with a selfie stick and also his mobile phone camera to record in the mountains of Colorado. (along Peak to Peak Highway and the St. Vrain River):

 

 

One of the videos shown at Lumonics Immersed, Mountain Meditation 3 by Marc Billard,was accepted in the upcoming Tilting West: Defining A New Legacy Exhibition at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities. The exhibit opens June 3 and ends on August 23, 2026. We hope you can see the exhibit. Here is an excerpt:
 

 

The music is a collaboration of Dorothy Tanner and Marc Billard (Tanner/Billard) that began in 1994 and ended upon Dorothy’s passing in 2020. Marc continues to produce music (and visuals) for Lumonics Immersed. The songs are produced using sound samples of instruments and voices from around the world, keyboards, and also can include some of Dorothy’s spoken word (Cosmic Rap).

 

 

Apr 24

Clients from the Smith Agency Come to Lumonics

 

 We truly enjoyed hosting clients from the Smith Agency for our guided tour and multisensory immersion.

Organized by: Brianna Boykin, Associate Director of Day Programs
 
 

 

About the Smith Agency:
Purpose Statement

The Smith Agency, founded in 1992, is a non-profit organized under the statutes of the State of Colorado to provide community-based services. We give training and care to persons with severely disabling conditions in areas of personal, emotional, cognitive, and social skills. Through a positive and homelike environment, we provide a continuum of services appropriate to the individual. It is important for individuals to function in the most independent manner possible.

Mission Statement

The Smith Agency strives to prepare individuals with developmental delays to become happy, adjusted individuals, that are working, active and contributing to their community.

 

Feedback Received

“I want to relay the abundance of positive comments I have received. I send parents and providers picture of our individuals and every single one was in awe and asked for more details! I have also told our other buildings about Lumonics, so expect more visits in the future!”Brianna Boykin
Associate Director of Day Program
Smith Agency Inc

 

This photo was taken during the first part of the guided tour/immersion. The attendees are watching the “Art of Seeing” video, intended to train attendees’ eyes how to observe art.

 

 

* excerpted from www.smithagencyinc.org