GLOWSTICKING - A LOST ART?

Glowsticking is the art of light manipulation, creating light trails with glowsticks akin to the Polynesian art of poi balls. Originating in the American rave scene, glowsticking was immensely popular from the 90s to early 2000s. Through my own experiences, I met many very talented ravers who dedicated their spare time to developing their own techniques and individual styles. It was not unusual for people to spend hundreds of dollars on a variety of glowstick brands and colors.

What happened to glowsticking? It is very rare to see it at events nowadays, and the style is usually overshadowed by its contemporary known as finger light gloving. So, what happened?

Before we get to that, let’s discuss a bit about the go-to place for learning and interacting with other bright light enthusiasts, which was very important to the development of the glowsticking culture. The website Glowsticking.com was the place that every sticker would go to. Including resources such as forums, member profile sections, and video sections, members would interact with each other daily. Essentially it was a Facebook for glowstickers. This website was an offshoot of a popular social media website during the early 2000s called iloveraving.com. It was popular during the pre-Myspace days and the social media platform wasn’t nearly as refined as it is today, but the website allowed ravers from all over the world to connect with one another. As with the passage of time and websites, interest either waned or expenses didn’t equal demand of website attendance, leading to the site going down. A plethora of information was lost but eventually part of the forums were restored.

Glowsticking.com on the other hand is mostly still intact, and many resources are still widely available. As mentioned previously, why is glowsticking considered dead? If you do a search on Youtube, many users are still uploading videos of themselves practicing the art, yet it is hardly seen at events.

One issue I always hear from venue owners and promoters is that it is considered highly dangerous to other attendees. I feel a huge contributing factor to this rule was when Tiesto banned glowsticks from all his events. He stated that it damages the scene as it contributes to the drug-addled image already connected to raves. Eventually promoters did the same as well, feeling that the art would hurt ticket sales. Yet till this day, other light arts are considered acceptable at events.

What do you think about the status of glowsticking? Is it a dead art or just waiting for a second revival? Leave your thoughts in the comment section!