A whale splashing in the Wear; a playground of musical seesaws; a geometric pattern in the trees along the riverbank; a monumental snowdome in Market Square.

At the 10th anniversary edition of the UK’s largest light festival visitors enjoyed 37 dramatic installations and projections showcasing the creativity of both international and local artists. Iconic landmarks were transformed, including Durham Cathedral, lit up from within by candlelit installation Spirit, whilst the public could manipulate the sound and light installation Stones on the historic building’s exterior.

As always, the programme had a strong international element, with artists from Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and France bringing their work to Durham. Visitor favourites included Geometrical Traces by Spanish artist Javier Riera, whose mesmerising  artwork created 3-D patterns across  the trees above Prebends Bridge, and Fujiko Nakaya’s Fogscape #03238, a ghostly shape-shifting vapour that wound its way around the trees and over the river underneath Durham Cathedral.

The long-awaited return of Jaques Rival’s giant snow globe in Durham’s Market Place with its joyful neon affirmation I Love Durham, drew smiles in the rain from visitors young and old alike. Another favourite return was the colossal Baleen whale, Mysticete, by French artists Top’la Design / Catherine Garret. Belfast-based artist Deepa Mann Kler brightened the South Bailey streets with Shoefiti, garlands of illuminated 3D-printed trainers inspired by the mysterious act of shoe-tossing. Amelia Kosminsky’s Celestial Brainstorm encouraged audiences to interact whilst contemplating the disruptive effects of irregular brain activity, whilst the ingenious Human Tiles installation invited audiences to transform the facade of the Gala Theatre as part of an interactive video-mapping work that recalls the ornate tiles of Portugal.

More than 150 local people aged from 4 to 85 years participated in Keys of Light. Pianists performed live music from Shostakovich to ‘The Greatest Showman’ to generate an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colours and patterns across the exterior of Rushford Court with every chord. One performance in particular of ‘Divenire’ by Ludovico Einaudi by a Durham University student was even the soundtrack to a marriage proposal in the audience.

Hundreds more local people had taken part in the preparations for this tenth anniversary festival, helping to make installations such as Bottle Festoon, Friendship Tree and Are Atoms Alive?. Students from Durham Sixth Form Centre collaborated with Portuguese artists Ocubo and Storybox from New Zealand to make Are Atoms Alive?, a short film exploring science displayed across nine shipping containers. East Durham College students reimagined the student union building Dunelm House with a new video projection artwork Lift Off, developed from the Apollo 50 project in Peterlee earlier this year. Dan Shorten from Guildhall School of Music & Drama, who provided guidance for this project, also presented the immersive walkway Light Tunnel, located in Crown Court Gardens which proved to be another crowd-pleaser.

Once again, the BRILLIANT programme offered four talented local people the opportunity to create a completely new piece of light art and play a central part in the festival’s 10th anniversary. Lucy McDonnell’s End Over End, a super-sized neon slinky, brightened up the Milburngate site, whilst Penelope Payne’s projection, Blue Skies, tucked under Milburngate Bridge, also brought a touch of sunshine to the festival despite the weather. Keen-eyed visitors will have spotted Mike Donaghy’s playful alteration of two sets of traffic lights for his artwork A Different View. By contrast Washed Up, an assemblage work made from bright plastic objects found on the beaches of the North East, delivered a serious message, with artist Diane Watson encouraging people to look closer and consider the impact of their plastic use.

The Next Page, a striking neon words artwork displayed on the back of Clayport Library will become a permanent fixture in the city thanks to support from the Banks Community Fund. Created as part of a project with women at HMP Low Newton following a series of writing workshops with poet Hannah Jane Walker, it will join the existing permanent Lumiere installations, Heron, Lightbenches and Helvetictoc, also supported by the Banks Community Fund.

Lumiere Durham 2019 was commissioned by Durham County Council.