Artworks will light up the city next month
CITY streets will once again be illuminated by world-class art as Light Up Leicester returns.
First staged in 2020, the four-day festival will again take place in March and will shine a light on the city’s importance as a destination for arts and culture.
From March 3 to 6, residents and visitors will see the streets filled with illuminated interactive artworks.
Light Up Leicester is presented by the city council, BID Leicester and ArtReach, and has been made possible by the support of Arts Council England.
The organisers said this year’s festival will include large-scale projects from renowned artists, creating a trail of nine installations around the city centre.
Fantastic Planet, a largescale work by Amanda Parer, consists of inflatable, glowing human sculptures that seem to have just landed on Earth. It will be set up on Orton Square, in the city’s Cultural Quarter.
Pulse, by This Is Loop, is a tunnel of light and sound, the size of an articulated lorry, with pulses of light triggered by the soundtrack, creating an immersive experience.
There will also be the opportunity for people to create their own light sculptures, which can be displayed from their windows to light up their communities, through home kits created by artist Sean Clarke and which will be available to order online.
The community light creations can be exhibited at a new art space in Church Gate called Beta X, which will be hosting a Light Cafe as part of the festival. In this space at 72 Church Gate, workshops have been running daily this week, with visitors able to make their own customised lights using eco-friendly recycled materials. The workshops will run until tomorrow ((February 17).
Simon Jenner, director of BID Leicester said: “It’s incredibly exciting to see the return of Light Up Leicester to the city.
“Not only will we unveil new pieces of art, we will also be working with internationally-renowned artists. Fantastic Planet will be a showstopper that will give audiences a moment of wonder.”