Lumiere London takes place on 14th-17th January 2016

Durham, Janet Echelman Studio Echelman, Lumiere2015, produced by Artichoke in Durham, photo by Matthew Andrews 2015.

The full programme for London’s first Lumiere light festival has been revealed, a brand new event that is set to transform the city's streets and buildings across four evenings this month.

Developed by creative producers Artichoke and supported by the Mayor of London, Lumiere London runs from 14th-17th January 2016, 6.30-10.30pm. Free to attend, the festival will re-imagine London’s urban landscape and architecture in 30 artworks across four main areas: King’s Cross; Mayfair and Grosvenor Square; Piccadilly, Regent Street, Leicester Square and St James’s; and Trafalgar Square and Westminster.


With founding support from Atom Bank, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Heart of London Business Alliance, London & Partners and King’s Cross, plus additional support from a host of partners and sponsors, including Westminster City Council, Lumiere London will transform parts of London’s West End and King's Cross into a glittering pedestrian playground.

Lumiere London aims to attract Londoners and tourists alike into the heart of the capital during what is traditionally one of the quieter months of the year. Festival visitors are being encouraged to explore the dazzling night-time gallery on foot, discovering parts of the capital for the first time and seeing familiar sights in a new light.

There are easy walking routes between many of the 30 exhibits and plenty of opportunities to stay and linger over a drink or a meal at the many venues and attractions along the way.

Suggested walking routes include: from Leicester Square through to Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey; from Piccadilly Circus to Grosvenor Square via Piccadilly Arcade and St James’s; along Regent Street via Carnaby to Oxford Circus; and from Euston Road to King’s Cross, Granary Square and beyond. The festival map will be available to download at www.visitlondon.com/lumiere and will be distributed to festival visitors in London’s West End and King’s Cross during the event.

Newly-announced installations include:
At Westminster Abbey, French digital artist Patrice Warrener will use his chromalithe technique to “paint” the Abbey’s West Gate in an electric riot of colour. The Light of the Spirit will highlight the series of stone statues above the Great West Door including Dr Martin Luther King and El Salvadorean Bishop Oscar Romero, as well as parts of the two Western Towers built by Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor.

In Piccadilly, the Lumineoles light sculptures will dance with the elements, while on the facade of BAFTA 195 Piccadilly, leading stars and directors of British screen and TV will appear as part of 195 Piccadilly, a dynamic, technicolour artwork by Newcastle-based studio NOVAK, with a striking soundtrack by Ed Carter. Exploring the different genres of cinema and television and using images from BAFTA’s archive, including Michael Caine, Olivia Coleman, Idris Elba, Steve McQueen, and Julie Walters, the piece will draw out the architectural features of the building and refer to its origins as the home of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours. (Supported by Levy Real Estate and in partnership with Heart of London Business Alliance and BAFTA 195 Piccadilly)

At King’s Cross, visitors will be able to explore the area, its buildings and spaces through 11 installations and projected artworks, including Circus of Light, a magical animation across the breadth of the repurposed Granary Building especially commissioned for the festival from Portuguese studio Ocubo, and Diver by Ron Haselden, a 17-metre light sculpture at the King’s Cross Swimming Pond Club.

Additional programme highlights include:
King’s Cross

• Light Graffiti, Floating Pictures (Sweden) in collaboration with Digital Art Center (Stockholm University) and Pew Square. An interactive installation that invites audiences to use torches on smartphones or any other source of light to hand to paint onto their surroundings. (In partnership with King’s Cross)
• Spectra-3: Lux, Field (UK).  A living, sensing and moving light sculpture, attempting to connect with the people around it and with something far, far out there. (In partnership with King’s Cross)

Previously announced installations in King’s Cross:

• binaryWaves by Lab[au] (Belgium), Regent’s Canal
• Joining the Dots by Cleary Connolly (Ireland/France), Battle Bridge Place
• Litre of Light by Mick Stephenson (UK) with Central Saint Martins students and MyShelter Foundation Central Saint Martins Crossing
• Platonic Spin by Nathaniel Rackowe (UK), Regent’s Place, Euston Road

London’s West End

• Elephantastic by Catherine Garret/Top’la Design (France)

A strikingly life-like elephant emerges from a cloud of dust to make his slow and heavy journey through the archway on Air Street between Piccadilly and Regent Street, bringing the sounds of the jungle to central London. (In partnership with Regent Street Association and The Crown Estate)

• I Haven’t Changed my Mind in a Thousand Years, Beth J. Ross (UK)

Two long-forgotten 11th century proverbs discovered in a medieval manuscript, re-written in neon and exhibited on the Piccadilly Arcade. (In partnership with Great Portland Estates)

• Keyframes by Groupe LAPS/Thomas Veyssiere (France)

Veyssiere’s trademark LED stickmen emerge from an un-noticed 19th century frieze at the top of Liberty House on Regent Street and run riot across the front of the building. (In partnership with Regent Street Association and The Crown Estate)

• Lumineoles, Porte Par Le Vent (France)

Floating along Piccadilly and lit from within, these graceful dreamlike creatures will dance with the elements, ebbing and flowing with the music and, creating beautiful colourful shapes as they go. (In partnership with Heart of London Business Alliance)

Previously announced installations in London’s West End

• 1.8 London by Janet Echelman (US), Oxford Circus
• Garden of Light by TILT (France), Leicester Square
• Les Voyageurs by Cedric Le Borgne (France), St James’s
• Shaida Walking 2015 by Julian Opie (UK), Broadwick Street

Mayfair / Grosvenor Square

• Aquarium, Benedetto Bufalino & Benoit Deseille (France).

A defunct red phone box in Mayfair becomes a living aquarium filled with goldfish. (In partnership with the Grosvenor Estate)

• Brothers & Sisters, Ron Haselden (France)

Part of a series of works created by Haselden over a number of years, this installation is based on drawings by schoolchildren from the Isle of Dogs, London, and transformed into large sculptures using LED embedded light-rope. (In partnership with the Grosvenor Estate)

• Sanctuary, Sarah Blood (UK). Sarah Blood’s installation of neon birdhouses nestles in the trees in Brown Hart Gardens, connected by a soundscape of choreographed birdsong. (In partnership with the Grosvenor Estate)
• Spinning Night in Living Colour, Elaine Buckholz (US). Buckholz reimagines Van Gogh’s painting All Night Cafe sampled like a spinning record with a shaking video camera and transformed into a series of moving line paintings. With an original sound score by Floor van de Velde and Elaine Buckholtz. (In partnership with the Grosvenor Estate)

Trafalgar Square

• Centrepoint. The giant neon letters that used to grace the top of London’s Centrepoint building find a temporary new home at London’s epicentre in Trafalgar Square. (Supported by Almacantar)
• Plastic Islands, Luzinterruptus (Spain). A series of glowing sculptures in the Trafalgar Square fountains. Made from thousands of recycled plastic bottles, the piece is inspired by and a commentary on the “Eighth-Continent”, the garbage patch of marine litter accumulated in the North Pacific Ocean.

Founding Partner Bloomberg Philanthropies is working alongside Artichoke to enhance public engagement with Lumiere London and will host “The Heart and Soul of the City', an event at which Lumiere London artists will discuss and debate the life of the city, the public realm and how they can be transformed by communities and artists.
 
Artichoke is working with Team London, the Mayor’s volunteering programme for London, to recruit over 200 volunteers from across the capital to help make the festival a success.