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Plant sculptures made of multi-coloured lights
Garden of Light, TILT, Lumiere Durham 2015. Produced by Artichoke. Photo by Matthew Andrews

The UK’s largest light festival returned to its roots

Commissioned by Durham County Council.

Lumiere 2015, Durham - Highlights

An international array of artists lit up the city in spectacular and unexpected ways as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to enjoy the fourth Lumiere Durham light festival.

Lumiere Durham 2015 brought together local and international artists, arts professionals and visitors from far and wide.

Audiences braved the elements to see 29 extraordinary art installations spread across the city, including a whale in the River Wear, Fujiko Nakaya’s ghostly fog beneath the Cathedral, and a projected artwork by Spanish artist Daniel Canogar, which saw 250 locals appearing to storm the 50 metre-high arches of Durham Viaduct.

Inside Durham Cathedral, Miguel Chevalier projected his interactive artwork, Complex Meshes onto the famous vaulted ceiling.. Students from Durham Sixth Form Centre collaborated with Storybox to film local people talking about their most treasured object in Precious. The film was then projected onto storage containers stacked in the grounds of the college. In a quiet a residential street, a terraced house came to life with the projected stories of Durham residents and their homes.

This year’s BRILLIANT competition winners, local people who had applied with their ideas for an artwork, included Robyn Wright’s Neon Bikes and Victoria MacLeod’s popular Big Knitting, giant UV knitting needles and yarn.

An estimated 200,000 people visited the festival, making it the most popular yet.

Population icon

200,000

Total visitors

Installation icon

29

Number of installations

Number

6,000

Number of lightbulbs in Cloud

Volunteer icon

167

Number of volunteers

Community participants icon

225

Number of people filmed for Asalto Durham


1.26 Durham, Janet Echelman / Studio Echelman, Lumiere Durham 2015. Produced by Artichoke. Photo by Matthew Andrews

The festival seemed to hit new artistic heights, with artists from the North East, across the country and overseas striving to stop us in our tracks.

~ David Whetstone, Journal Review of the Year 2015 ~

Artists

Emma Allen

Ruby | View Bio

Elisa Artesero

DREAMERS | View Bio

Ross Ashton, John Del Nero, Isobel Waller-Bridge, Carlos Frenk and Richard Bower

The World Machine | View Bio

The Brick Box

Electric Fireside | View Bio

Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett

CLOUD | View Bio

Daniel Canogar

Asalto Durham | View Bio

Miguel Chevalier

Complex Meshes 2015 | View Bio

Cleary Connolly

Change Your Stripes | View Bio

Janet Echelman / Studio Echelman

1.26 Durham | View Bio

Tobie Langel

Helvetictoc | View Bio

Alison Lowery & Richard Hornby

Rainbow River | View Bio

Victoria MacLeod

Big Knitting | View Bio

Louise Mackenzie

The Stars Beneath Our Feet | View Bio

Stéphane Masson

Supercube | View Bio

Philippe Morvan

DOT | View Bio

Fujiko Nakaya, Simon Corder

#03238 | View Bio

NOVAK

Fool's Paradise | View Bio

Porté par le vent

Les Luminéoles | View Bio

Beth J Ross

I Haven't Changed my Mind in a Thousand Years | View Bio

Shared Space & Light

Home Sweet Home | View Bio

Mick Stephenson

Litre of Light | View Bio

Bernd Spiecker for LBO LichtBankObjekte

Lightbench | View Bio

Storybox & Durham Sixth Form Centre students

Precious | View Bio

TILT

Garden of Light | View Bio

Top’là Design / Catherine Garret

Mysticète | View Bio

Patrice Warrener

The Red House | View Bio

Robyn Wright

Neon Bikes | View Bio


Ruby, Emma Allen, Lumiere Durham 2015. Produced by Artichoke. Photo by Matthew Andrews

A brilliant event - I think the best yet. I love living in Durham but events such as Lumiere make me 'glow' with pride! Thank you Artichoke and everyone who supported the project.

~ Audience member ~

Electric Fireside

Electric Fireside, The Brick Box, Lumiere Durham 2015. Produced by Artichoke. Photo by Matthew Andrews Photo by Matthew Andrews

Inspired by the ancient art of storytelling, The Brickbox worked collaboratively with three local groups from County Durham to produce a series of unique shared events during Lumiere Durham 2015.

The Brickbox worked with communities in Dawdon, Spennymoor and Wingate, each group responded in a different way, sharing party games, memories and local traditions. Travelling to the festival in a specially decorated double decker bus, puppetry, dance and music brought these stories to life.

Underneath the Gates Shopping Centre, the loading bay was transformed with swirly carpets, armchairs and a glowing electric fire. Everyone was invited to take a seat, listen and join in as puppetry, dance and music brought these stories to life.

Lumiere London 2016

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