SINGAPORE - i Light Marina Bay - Asia's only sustainable light art festival, will become an annual event from next year, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The event, which has been held every other year since 2010, has seen more people participating in it, and more visitors.

The latest one last year attracted a record 685,000 visitors.

Said Mr Jason Chen, URA's director for place management: "The festival has gained a strong following since its inception and we have received a lot of feedback suggesting that it be a yearly affair.

"Holding it annually at Marina Bay will allow more people to enjoy the light art installations, and more importantly, to heed our message about sustainability."

The artwork on display uses environmentally sustainable materials, such as those which are recycled or biodegradable.

The URA is also getting artists to submit proposals for light art installations to be showcased for next year's festival, which will be held from March 4 - March 27.

Next year's festival will have the theme "In Praise of Shadows" and will give artists an opportunity to "reflect on Singapore's future after reaching its Jubilee year and how the city can be transformed and lit in the future," said the URA.

The curators for next year's festival are Mr Randy Chan, principal architect at architecture studio Zarch Collaboratives, and Mr Khairuddin Hori, deputy director of artistic programming at Palais de Tokyo , a building dedicated to modern art in Paris.

"Their hope is to be able to provoke artists to re-imagine the fundamentals, forms and roles of light, and to readjust perceptions of lighting," said the URA.

"It will also be an opportunity to reframe issues relating to sustainability and to contemplate larger issues of light, beauty and the city."

Interested artists can visit the i Light Marina Bay website at www.ilightmarinabay.sg to find out more about the open call, and submit their proposals by 26 June 2015.