Festival to light up landmarks
LUMIERE RETURNS TO DURHAM TO BRIGHTEN UP HISTORIC BUILDINGS
It’s been announced which Durham landmarks will be lit up for this year’s Lumiere spectacular.
Durham Cathedral, Durham Castle and the historic Miners’ Hall at Redhills are the first locations to be announced for Lumiere, which returns to the historic city for the fifth year from November 16-19.
The UK’s largest light festival will once again attract artists from around the world, as well as tens of thousands of visitors.
In total, there will be more than 40 awe-inspiring light sculptures and installations illuminating the city’s buildings and public spaces.
Leading artists such as, Pablo Valbuena from Spain, Hannah Fox from the UK and the artistic collective, Shared Space and Light from the UK, will respond to Durham’s unique locations for their art works.
The artists have worked closely with communities on these projects, with Pablo drawing upon the Bell Major of Durham Cathedral and bell-ringing communities through the UK for his inspiration.
The piece, titled Methods, will be installed at the cathedral and will draw on the familiar sounds and percussive rhythms of church bells up and down the country, and will be performed live nightly during the festival by bellringing teams from across the UK.
Meanwhile, Hannah has worked with 66 people from the local area aged five to 78.
The resulting Our Moon artwork will be projected onto the walls of Durham Castle.
Lumiere is produced by arts charity Artichoke, and is commissioned by Durham County Council, with additional support from Arts Council England, Durham University and a host of funders and supporters.
Simon Henig, leader of Durham County Council, said: “The community outreach work which is central to Lumiere is something we are particularly proud of.”
The full programme for Lumiere 2017 will be announced on October 16.
As in previous years, the central peninsula area will be ticketed between the peak hours of 4.30pm and 7.30pm.
The rest of the festival outside the central peninsula area will be accessible to visit at any time without a ticket, and everyone will be able to enter the central peninsula area without a ticket after 7.30pm.
Tickets will be available from October 17 at council outlets around Durham County.