The Portland Winter Light Festival (PDX WLF) is an annual event hosted by the Willamette Light Brigade, a non-profit arts organization. The light-based art and technology event fosters community in Portland through immersive light installations, projections, and interactive displays during the city’s darkest time of the year.  

We spoke to architectural designer Ashley Fenner about the Mackenzie team’s experience preparing our second installation, Invisible Cities.

M: How long as Mackenzie been involved with the Winter Light Festival?

A: Mackenzie has participated for the past two years and has grown its participation for 2026. Last year we lit up the Mezzanine corner of our building and this year we took on a street-level display by taking over one of our conference rooms.

M: Please tell us about “Invisible Cities,” what sparked the inspiration for Mackenzie’s installation?

A: Invisible Cities is the title of a book by Italo Calvino. This book speaks of fantastical tales of an adventurer, who sees many far away cities. For Mackenzie’s installation, we took inspiration from this book as a jumping point to relate to the festivals theme this year, "All the Little Things." The theme, like our instillation, encourages people to look closer and find the details that make our world exciting. In the case of our exhibit, we explored the idea of a city that exists along a river and the experience of finding your place in the community. 

M: What was the goal of the piece?

A: The goal of this installation is to invite viewers into the experience of exploring a new place, and the excitement of being somewhere for the first time. We hope this experience lights a joy in viewers and challenges them to see their own city in a new light. 

M: How much time did preparation for the installation take?

A: Preparing for this installation was a many months long endeavor. The idea that began this journey transformed many times by the time we had a group working together to articulate the design. As a team, we spent all of January molding our vision into a final design, and leading up to the festival, had an intensive weeklong construction and installation process.

Shown below are a few sketches from each meeting.

M: How was your experience working with the team on this project? 

A: I loved being able to spend time developing this project with the team. It was exciting to see how all our creative minds interacted and approached this year’s theme. Everyone had a unique perspective and skills that transformed the project into a concept with a depth that is representative of the layers of a city. I was inspired by the spirit everyone brought to accomplish something that was completely about creativity and community. Getting to dive into this project was a great place for us all to channel some passion in a way that was collaborative and fun.