Public can bring light to festival
IN a year where everyone is desperate to add some colour and light to life following a dark and depressing 2020, the upcoming Durham Lumiere is promising to do just that.
Brilliant, a £50,000 nationwide commissioning scheme which seeks ideas for new installations to make the light festival more sparkling than ever has now been launched.
Organiser Artichoke will be commissioning new work for Lumiere, which is set to make its return to Durham in November, and as well as inviting ideas from across the North East, it is this year increasing its number of commissions and extending the call-out to the rest of the country. The nationwide involvement is a first and a sign of how popular the biennial festival – which transforms the city’s streets and buildings after dark with illuminated artworks – has become over the years.
Helen Marriage, director of
live event producer Artichoke, said: “Brilliant has fostered so much creative talent in the North East since it launched in 2011 and it has been fantastic to see how the winners’ careers have developed, contributing to County Durham’s reputation as a hub for light art.
“This year we are delighted to open up Brilliant to the whole country whilst continuing to shine a light on local talent, so that anyone with a great idea can have the opportunity to make it a reality. ”
Durham Lumiere first took place in 2009 and stand-out attractions have included a Crown of Light projection, which turned the front of Durham Cathedral into a swirling canvas of pictures and sound, and a snow globe encompassing the Marquess of Londonderry statue in Market Square.
At a time that everyone is looking forward to seeing a gradual return to some normality, allowing them to embrace life again, it is expected that the public will be keen to snap up the chance to create artwork for the November 18-21 festival.
The Brilliant commissioning scheme is open to creative individuals aged 18 or over who are currently living in the UK and it is looking for bright ideas that will transform Durham’s urban landscape using the medium of light.
Applications to take part in Brilliant open on January 11 and will close at 9am on Thursday, February 11. For an application form, as well as information on how to take part, visit https://www.lumie re - f e s t i v a l . c o m / b r i l - liant-2021/ online.