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.

Garden of Light, TILT, Lumiere Durham 2015. Produced by Artichoke. Photo by Matthew Andrews

Lumiere Durham 2015 Statistics

  • Total visitors

    200,000

  • Number of Volunteers

    167

  • Number of Installations

    29

  • Number of people filmed for Asalto Durham

    225

  • Number of lightbulbs in Cloud

    6,000

Electric Fireside

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.

Electric Fireside, The Brick Box, 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 ~