Biltmore House transforms with magical light, sound exhibit Luminere

ASHEVILLE – Before Biltmore House was constructed in the late-1800s, famed George Vanderbilt shared his vision with architect Richard Morris Hunt of a 6,500-square-foot Colonial Revival country house to be his “little mountain escape” in the forests of Asheville. Hunt countered with a different, grander design to match the scale of the land and be complemented by the Blue Ridge Mountains framing it. The result was a 175,000-square-foot, 250-room French Renaissance Revival-style château, now a historic landmark dubbed “America’s Largest Home.”

Like Hunt to Vanderbilt, Biltmore Company challenged artist Ricardo Rivera and his team at the experiential design studio, Klip Collective, to “make it bigger” when he presented his initial idea for Biltmore House and Garden’s new, outdoor projection and sound experience, “Luminere.”

“This project is the largest in scale as far as our footprint and impact upon the space,” said Rivera, founder of Klip Collective. “There’s 48 projectors that we projection mapped for this exhibit ― that’s a lot ― not to mention all the lights. The scale of production, this is by far the biggest production we’ve done.”

“Luminere,” a ticketed event running select evenings from March 26 through Oct. 18, transforms Biltmore House and its gardens, originally designed by renowned landscaper Frederick Law Olmsted, into a “nighttime canvas of light, motion and sound.”

Biltmore House’s façade features a 14-minute linear story, playing several times after dusk, of Biltmore House’s inception, bridging the generations, from George Vanderbilt in the late 1800s to the family’s descendants and the work carried on at the 8,000-acre estate today.

Sound and visual projections loop throughout the evening in the Italian Garden, Pergola, Shrub Garden, Walled Garden and Conservatory, encouraging visitors to leisurely stroll through to wander and become entranced by the fantastical scenes, from the colorful, dancing lights sprawled across the lawns to the waves of hues outlining and bringing motion to the towering line of trees.

The ambient sounds ― original musical scores composed by Julian Grefe, featuring the Asheville Symphony ― further create the magical vibe.

Chase Pickering, great-great-grandson of George and Edith Vanderbilt and the vice president of guest relations at Biltmore, said “Luminere” has been six years in the making, having been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and again by Tropical Storm Helene in the fall of 2024.

The exhibition finally makes its debut during Biltmore Estate’s 130 year anniversary. Biltmore House, which became the home of the famed George and Edith Vanderbilt and their family, opened in 1895.

Pickering said he was proud of the Biltmore staff’s work to bring “Luminere” into fruition.

“I’m also excited to see what ‘Luminere’ is going to do for this community and this region. I think it’s going to provide an economic lift for Western North Carolina and Asheville and Biltmore, and that’s going to be a great thing for everyone here,” Pickering said.

Illuminating Biltmore House and Gardens for ‘Luminere’

Visitors watch projections on Biltmore House during a media preview of the estate’s Luminere event on March 20, 2026, in Asheville, North Carolina. (Josh Bell / Asheville Citizen Times via Reuters Connect)

Biltmore regularly hosts temporary ticketed exhibitions, most recently “Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures” and “Chihuly at Biltmore,” and has exhibited some Chihuly art sculptures on the grounds of the estate. However, “Luminere” is the estate’s first outdoor, immersive evening experience.

“As a fifth generation family member, art has always been a love of our family, and this is our new interpretation of bringing art to life and our story to life at Biltmore, on the house and throughout the gardens. Luminere leans into our creativity and our innovative spirit that goes back to George Vanderbilt ― he loved innovations and new technology ― and that’s what we’re bringing in this experience with the Klip Collective team,” Pickering said.

Since the late 1990s, Rivera has pioneered video projections as an art form. His earlier works involved crafting visual effects for electronic music musicians and deejays, lighting up dark performance spaces such as warehouses. In 2000, after moving to Philadelphia, he was commissioned by live art and fringe festivals, where he further explored and developed artistic processes and patented several projection-mapping techniques.

In 2003, he established Klip Collective, with his team creating projection and sound experiences for landmarks and destinations, including at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, which was the company’s first large-scale, multi-installation experience.

“We were able to develop a whole visual language of bringing those type of spaces to life,” Rivera said.

In 2013, “What’s He Building in There?,” a 3D narrative projection paired to the Tom Waits song, was featured at the Sundance Film Festival, which led to more storytelling opportunities. Later, he projected across a 900-foot-wide bluff in Arizona. Other notable works include the winter lights show on the facade of Philadelphia’s City Hall, and the “Electric Desert” nighttime experience at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.

“Luminere” stretches across Biltmore House, winds through several areas of Biltmore Gardens and spill through the Conservatory.

“What’s great about this experience is that there’s two things happening at Luminere ― there’s the history, then there’s the beauty of nature and the land. I’m inspired by George Vanderbilt’s original vision. He came here, saw this beautiful land and said, ‘I want to build a house here and create this,’ and I feel the same way,” Rivera said.

Rivera said the Biltmore team were more like co-creators than clients, as the staff was hands-on providing access, historical facts, archival imagery and ideas, allowing Klip Collective to capture the essence, and tell a complete in-depth story about Biltmore House and all those who were and are a part of its inception and legacy.

“We have to tell the story of the house upon the house. There’s real power behind telling stories on spaces while you’re within it,” Rivera said. “I want people to cry, I want people to laugh ― it’s meant to be a full experience, not just pretty visuals.”

“Luminere” artisan picnic, exclusive Biltmore House art tour

“Luminere” invites guests to bring a blanket or portable chair to lounge on the lawn of Biltmore House as they watch the illuminated show.

Guests may enhance their “Luminere” experience by enjoying craft beverages that will be served in the gardens, ordering from curated menus featured in estate restaurants, and adding Biltmore chef-curated charcuterie and dessert boxes to create an artisan picnic.

A special edition “Luminere” wine has been released and may be purchased at the estate.

For “Luminere” only, guests may upgrade their package to include the intimate, one-hour “Artistic Legacies” tour, which is led by a Biltmore historian through the first and second floors of the home, focusing on the lesser-known stories and details about art pieces and the expansive Vanderbilt collection.

It also includes an exhibit of the family’s art, including Pickering’s photography and designs by Aubrey Vanderbilt Cecil Baliles, also a fifth generation Vanderbilt descendent and the founder of Avermore Jewelry.

“This exhibition is very important to our family, it’s bringing our family history to life in ways that’s never been done before,” Pickering said.

How to attend “Luminere” at Biltmore House

The contemporary exhibition encompassing art and technology reflects on Biltmore’s past, connects with the present-day visitors and ushers the estate into the future.

“This is an art form for a whole new generation that’s become ubiquitous. This is how we do things now, how we tell stories,” Rivera said.

Images and scenes from “Luminere,” such as of the blueprints overlaid on Biltmore House and prominent figures from the Vanderbilt family and Biltmore staff followed by video and narration work in tandem with the estate’s ongoing innovative, sustainable agricultural efforts.

Biltmore House and Gardens remain intact and unharmed by the lighting and sound systems. The lighting and sound equipment are temporary, and the structures constructed to house the projection devices may remain, depending on the success of “Luminere” and if it’s revived for a future run.

Biltmore offers several “Luminere” packages, beginning at $60 for access to the exhibition and grounds. A package including a Biltmore House tour, access to the grounds and “Luminere” begin at $140. Entry to “Luminere,” the exclusive “Artistic Legacies” evening tour and next day Biltmore House tour, plus access to the grounds begin at $195.

Tickets may be reserved at biltmore.com.

“The mark of a great experience is when it’s hard to describe, hard to photograph. You just have to come here and see it and experience it for yourself to really understand it,” Rivera said.

‘Luminere’ at Biltmore House and Gardens

Where: Biltmore Estate, 1 Lodge St., Asheville.

When: Evenings, March 26-Oct.18, 2026.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Biltmore House transforms with magical light, sound exhibit Luminere

Reporting by Tiana Kennell, Asheville Citizen Times / Asheville Citizen Times

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect