Durham City Vision
City Gears up for Light Festival Spectacular
6th November, 2008
Durham City today sees the launch of the biggest cultural event the City has ever seen.
Enlightenment: Durham International Light Festival is a visually stunning multi-cultural event which will illuminate the heart of the Durham City from Thursday 06 November until Saturday 08 November. It consists of four spectacular light-based art structures being installed on and under the City’s bridges, together with a city centre light trail.
Passers-by have been intrigued by the construction work taking place on the bridges and anticipation levels among the public are high. Visitors from outside the region are also set to travel to Durham especially for the event with enquiries flooding in from across the country.
The lights will be switched on from 4pm every night until Saturday until 10pm. Glow sticks and further information can be collected from the town hall reception in the Market Place until 9pm.
A civic reception, hosted by the City’s mayor, will see a gathering of people involved in putting on the festival including the artists themselves. Calcutta based Nandita Palchoudhuri and Sanchayan Ghosh have reinterpreted the City’s folklore and heritage through traditional Bengali artisans’ techniques and the innovative use of new materials.
Kate James, Events Co-ordinator at Durham City Vision, said; “The festival has been two years in the making and it is thrilling to see the work finally coming together the way we planned.
“Walking around the city and talking to people recently I’ve been struck by a real sense of excitement about the event. I just can’t wait for the big switch on now.”
Clymene Christoforou, Co-director of ISIS Arts, who commissioned the Indian artworks said: “We are delighted to have the artists here and to finally see the work installed. It’s great to bring some of the colour and excitement of the streets of Bengal to the heart of Durham.”
The two other large scale artworks have been commissioned by Grit and Pearl on behalf of Durham City Arts and are the work of Lulu Quinn and Julie Westerman, two prominent UK artists.
Enlightenment was initiated by Durham City Arts with support from Durham City Vision and will take place as part of EAST’08, a world-class celebration of contemporary Asian culture in North East England developed by culture10.
The main programme will be supported by Intermittent a series of smaller light based artworks, projections and film clips, linking the key commissions and providing a unique opportunity for visitors to enjoy the City’s beautiful architecture and commercial heart.
Suzy O’Hara Sheader, Events Support Officer from Durham City Vision, said; “The Intermittent Light Trail is a wonderful addition to the programme. We had a huge response from artists from across the globe, so the influences are really varied. This is a proud moment for Durham City.”
Alison Redshaw, Director of Durham City Arts, said; “Enlightenment is a fantastic international programme bringing four world class artists to Durham for the first time. The artworks have been created specifically for Durham and this is a great opportunity for people to look at the City a fresh through these contemporary visual art works. This is truly a wonderful addition to the cultural diary of our city.”
Harvey Dowdy, Director of Durham City Vision, said: “It is also going to be of huge benefit to local businesses – hotels and guest houses are being filled by contractors and visitors and the shops on the route of the light trail will benefit from the increased footfall generated by the event at a time of the year when it is traditionally quite quiet”.
The Artworks
Entering the city through bamboo arches lit by thousands of tiny hand crafted bulbs, the public will encounter the first installation constructed over Elvet Bridge.
Inspired by the traditional Durga Puja Festival in the Indian city of the same name, Calcutta Lights by Nandita Palchoudhuri will be decorated with intricate interpretations of the Durham Sanctuary Knocker and Rose Window. The structure has been created through recycling bamboo from the temporary ‘Bambuco’ bridge which recently spanned the River Tyne as part of NewcastleGateshead’s world-class programme of festivals and events.
Light of Darkness by Indian artist Sanchayan Ghosh will comprise two shining eyes suspended under the arches of Durham’s historic Framwelgate Bridge, celebrating the county’s mining and industrial past with more than 300 helmets making up the glowing iris of each eye.
Focussing on the imposing Castle and Cathedral vista the eyes reference the importance of monk and scholar The Venerable Bede who has been subject to much folklore. The piece also takes inspiration from the third eye of enlightenment in eastern society.
The first of the two UK pieces can be viewed from both the banks of the River Wear and Prebends Bridge, Illuminated Carpet by Julie Westerman is a floating sculpture inspired by designs in the ‘Carpet Pages’ of the Lindisfarne Gospels, and the complex weavings of Persian carpets. The design focuses on the highly favoured rose motif, merging Indian Moghal designs with the pattern books of the Barnard Castle carpet industry.
The final piece is a reflected suspended work displaying illuminated multilingual text taken from the writings of the Venerable Bede. Chandelier by Lulu Quinn is 15m wide, and will exhibit the ancient text, translated into modern English, from left to right across the breadth of the artwork.
The same text will also be translated into Arabic and will be displayed in the opposite direction with a Japanese translation hanging vertically, and hovering just above the surface of the River Wear. Suspended from Kingsgate Bridge, the work will appear mirrored, distorted and animated in the water below.
Durham City Centre is a ten minute walk from the train station and five minutes from the main bus station. Meteor car park in the heart of Durham City offers 500 secure spaces and is conveniently situated at the beginning of the light trail under Millennium Place.
Enlightenment Official Website
