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Record crowds attended the third edition of the Lumiere Durham light festival
Commissioned by Durham County Council.
Lumiere 2013, Durham - Highlights
The city’s cobbled streets and medieval architecture was once again the backdrop for spectacular installations.
An elephant, a giant sun and flickering fireflies were just some of the installations experienced at the festival.
175,000 people came to the third Lumiere Durham, exploring 27 light installations across the city. There were installations large and small, playful and poignant. This was the year of Elephantastic, a huge, video-mapped projection that trumpeted and stomped on Elvet Bridge, and of Rafael Lozano Hemmer’s giant replica of the sun, Solar Equation that hovered above Durham University’s Science site.
Celebrating the heritage of Durham Miners Hall, Groupe LAPS’ LED stick men Keyframes, rose up from a pile of smouldering coal to dance around the building.
Nathan Coley’s large-scale letters, spelling out A Place Beyond Belief in light bulbs were originally taken from the testimony of a New York resident in the wake of 9/11. Leading audiences up Saddler Street to Durham Cathedral the phrase took on a whole new meaning.
Winners of the BRILLIANT competition, where people from the North East are invited to apply with ideas for a light work, were again popular additions to the programme. Sarah Blood’s neon bird boxes Sanctuary filled St Oswald’s Churchyard with birdsong; Twist Design’s Stained Glass Cars gave a new lease of life to three Robin Reliants and Beth J. Ross’ handwritten neon lettering I Haven’t Changed my Mind in 1000 Years showed the continuing relevance of 11th century proverbs.
Atsara’s [M]ondes filled the inside of Durham Cathedral with delicate fire-fly like projections that spun and darted through the darkness.
Over four evenings, audiences enjoyed these installations and many more, once again braving the cold night to enjoy a sprinkling of Artichoke winter magic.
I, Gina Czarnecki. Developed in collaboration with Professor John Girkin and Cristiana Cavina-Pratesi, produced by Forma. Supported by a Wellcome Trust Arts Award and Durham University. Originally commissioned by Artichoke for Lumiere Durham 2013. Photo by Matthew Andrews
Artists
Ross Ashton, Robert Ziegler, John Del’ Nero
Crown of Light | View Bio
Maro Avrabou & Dimitri Xenakis
Guardian Angels | View Bio
Dan Civco, Sarah Blood, Errol Reuben Fernandes, Sheree Mack & Lindsay Duncanson
The Other Side of The Wall | View Bio
Top’là Design / Catherine Garret
Elephantastic | View Bio
Het Pakt
El Sol | View Bio
Luzinterruptus
Consumerist Christmas Tree | View Bio
Stephen Newby
Infinity | View Bio
Atsara
[M]ondes | View Bio
Sarah Blood
Sanctuary | View Bio
Nathan Coley
A Place Beyond Belief | View Bio
Groupe LAPS / Thomas Veyssiére
Keyframes | View Bio
Tobie Langel
Helvetictoc | View Bio
The Media Workshop
Volume Unit | View Bio
Nathaniel Rackowe
Platonic Spin | View Bio
Twist Design
Stained Glass Cars | View Bio
Maro Avrabou & Dimitri Xenakis
Greenhouse Effect | View Bio
Benedetto Bufalino & Benoit Deseille
Aquarium | View Bio
Gina Czarnecki
I | View Bio
Ron Haselden
Fête | View Bio
Rafael Lozano Hemmer
Solar Equation | View Bio
My Shelter Foundation (Philippines) / Mick Stephenson
Litre of Light | View Bio
Beth J Ross
I Haven’t Changed My Mind in 1,000 Years | View Bio
Stu Langley
Wheels of Industry | View Bio
The Other Side of the Wall
60 offenders from County Durham’s three prisons and one Young Offenders Institution collaborated with families and artists to fill two Perspex boxes each, simultaneously exploring their past and their future. The Other Side of the Wall was displayed in Durham Cathedral during the festival.
Litre of Light
It’s hard to imagine, but for many people around the world, electricity is an unaffordable resource. Led by Ilac Diaz and his charity My Shelter Foundation, Litre of Light brings sustainable lighting solutions to communities around the world. Using technology originally developed at MIT, a plastic bottle filled with water and drops of bleach can provide light to shack dwellings by refracting sunlight.
Working in collaboration with artist Mick Stephenson, the Litre of Light installation at Lumiere Durham highlighted this innovative approach. Filled with bottles decorated by local schoolchildren, the installation at Walkergate was a popular addition to the festival.
End Over End - Milburngate Site End Over End, Lucy McDonnell. Lumiere Durham 2019, produced by Artichoke.
Event Partners
Major Supporters
Event Sponsors
- Waterstons
- Swinburne Maddison
- Sir James Knott Trust
- Ramside Hall
- Hargreaves Services
- Instituit Francais
- Fluxus
- Ernest Cook Trust
- Compound Photonics (Gala Dinner Sponsor)
- Arts Council New Zealand
- Walkergate
- Northumbrian Water
- UK Trade & Investment
- Perspex
- Polish Cultural Institute
- Sherwoods
- Loeb Fellowship
- Esmée Fairbairn
- North East Local Enterprise Partnership
- County Durham Community Foundation
- Oldfields
- Gentoo
- Greggs
- Lotus Lounge
- Nepacs
- Quebec
- Association of North East Councils
- Flemish Authorities
- Barefoot Wine
- Embassy of Spain
- Northern Powergrid
- Lookers
- H&H
- New College Durham
- Persimmon