Birmingham Light Festival will brighten February with 11 artworks and over 50 events
14 January 2025
Birmingham Light Festival has announced its full programme, including spectacular illuminated artworks and a packed schedule of events.
Birmingham Light Festival has released the list of dazzling installations which will transform the city centre into an illuminated, open-air gallery from 19 to 22 February. A programme of events has also been revealed, giving visitors more than 50 opportunities to fully immerse themselves in the festival.
LIGHT IS COMING!
11 installations will transform the night in locations across the city centre from 6pm to 10pm, with artwork popping up in Birmingham’s streets, squares and public spaces.
Flux, by French design studio Collectif Scale, will bring a mesmerising display of dancing light beams and exciting electronic music to Snow Hill Square.
Centenary Square will become a space for play, hosting several participatory artworks including Floor is LAVA x Silent Disco. Funded by United By 2022 and created by Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces, the ultimate silent disco experience will encourage festival goers to dance along to their favourite party tunes until they hear the ‘Floor is LAVA’ track, when they’ll need to avoid the lights.
Visitors to Centenary Square will also be able to enjoy Twist & Shine by Kaleider, a collection of interactive light prisms that can be twisted into thousands of shapes, and ahead of the Yonex All England Open, Badminton England will be challenging visitors to a game of Night Badminton.
The full list of Birmingham Light Festival artworks includes:
· Taking root in the Jewellery Quarter’s St. Paul’s Square, Mycelium Network by Stevie Thompson uses fibre-optic lighting to recreate the underground fungal networks that help plants to grow, celebrating the hidden energy of the Earth.
· Part fortune teller, part fruit machine, Positive Spin by Liz Harry is a 5-metre-high interactive artwork which generates tarot readings, along with animated illustrations of the spinner’s fortunes. Positive Spin will be situated at The Mailbox.
· Un-Reel Access by Kappa, a mysterious glowing locked door, will appear at New Street Station, provoking curiosity at what lies beyond.
· Hippodrome Square will be the home of Peace Poem by Emergency Exit Arts, an illumination of the beautiful words of poet Robert Montgomery. The message of peace from Birmingham to the world will come to life with breathtaking butterflies at points throughout the night, which have been animated by Birmingham-based performers.
The city-wide festival will feature three additional legacy artworks, with thanks to funding support from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which will stay in situ after the festival ends, in a bid to brighten city spaces over time.Alright Bab!, a collaboration between Colmore BID, local merchandise business Brumbox and Midland’s based production company, Taylex Group, pays homage to this iconic Brummie greeting.
Ideas Happen Here, a collaboration between local agency Rough Diamond, The Whitmore Collection, RAWLS, Taylex Group and Jewellery Quarter BID, will take the form of an abstract and free-form light bulb, speaking to the remarkable historical achievements of the Jewellery Quarter in innovation, manufacturing and design.
Inspired by the stars who pass through the Hippodrome’s Stage Door, Roof of Stars will be installed on Thorp Street, delivered through a partnership between Birmingham Hippodrome and Southside District.
A Birmingham Light Festival map is available for download from the festival website, making artworks easy to discover and allowing visitors to be ‘called’ to discover an extra glowing surprise in the Colmore area, which promises to be picture perfect. All artworks are fully accessible, with step-free access and an audio description tour running on the Thursday evening.
Alongside the illuminated artworks, a programme of over 50 events will be running, staged by organisations and venues across Birmingham. The full programme is available from the Birmingham Light Festival website, events include:
LET’S GET PHYSICAL
Guests that want to combine enjoying the art with keeping active have plenty of activities to choose from. Run the Lights will see The Goodsyard Run Club, led by RUN OF A KIND take keen joggers on a free 5km run, taking in all of the illuminations.
Roundhouse Birmingham is taking over the waterways hosting Neon Paddle, aguided night-time kayak tour through the canals for £40pp.
Furry festivalgoers won’t be left out as Cuddle Paws asks dog-owners to don their best light-up gear and join Paws of Light (£2 donation for Birmingham Dogs Home), a dog walk starting in the Jewellery Quarter and taking in the artworks.
A FEAST FOR THE SENSES
Restaurants and bars throughout the city will be hosting events or introducing special menus to celebrate Birmingham Light Festival.
The Mailbox plays host to a Culinary Light Trail (£48pp) where guests will embark on a journey between three restaurants (Bazar, Indico, The Mayan) for exclusive light themed snacks and cocktails.
Jewellery Quarter Neighbourhood restaurant Otto will be hosting a three-course dinner by candlelight, including an exclusive festival cocktail, for £45pp.
Cocktail lovers can enjoy exclusively priced, themed cocktails at both Aluna in The Mailbox and Isaac’s Restaurant in The Grand Hotel, the perfect stop offs when exploring the installations.
THE MUSIC OF THE NIGHT
CBSO and the Canal and River Trust are teaming up to present Bringing the Light, a lantern procession along the canals from Roundhouse Birmingham to the CBSO Centre. Light will wind through the city on a heritage narrowboat, accompanied by music from the CBSO Chorus and harp player, Katherine Thomas.
Those not willing to call it a night can dance away under neon lights at Snobs and Rosie’s nightclubs, which will feature glow bubble machines, UV face painting and games and a glow-in-the-dark confetti cannon.
CRAFTING MEMORIES
Ikon Gallery will be marking the setting sun, bringing back a centuries-old tradition to celebrate a sacred place and ‘Clipping the Ikon’ by inviting communities together to form a human chain around the building. Workshops will take place during the day, including lantern making, ahead of the procession to encircle the gallery.
Quartermasters is asking ‘who lights up your life’ and will be personally engraving over 350 gold ingots and displaying them in the Jewellery Quarter, for You Light Up My Life. Nominations can be submitted between 14th and 31stJanuary via the Quartermasters website.
Artsy Party are inviting budding artists to create their own masterpieces using glow in the dark paints and neon lights, either at a family friendly session in the afternoon, or at the 80’s Sip and Paint Party in the evening for the grown-ups.
Alex Nicholson Evans, City Curator, said: “We’re so proud of the way that our city has come together to deliver what is shaping up to be a truly spectacular festival. It’s thanks to our incredible partners, artists, and businesses across Birmingham and beyond, that we have an amazing line-up of artworks and events that will give people so many opportunities to see our city in a different light! The events we’ve shared above are a small selection of the fantastic programme that visitors will be treated to from 19 – 22 February. I’m also so pleased that some of the magic of the festival will continue beyond February, with some of the artworks staying where they are, to bring more light to Birmingham throughout the year.”
Caroline Davis, Managing Director of Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces (OPUS) and Executive Producer of the Birmingham Light Festival, said: “We’re so full of joy to be announcing our full programme today. Across the city centre, our public spaces will come alive with beautiful artwork and fun events for absolutely everyone to enjoy, we can’t wait to watch visitor’s faces light up too. We hope that we’ll get to see visitors from near and far enjoying the programme, there’s definitely enough on there to warrant a couple of city centre visits. February is going to be quite a lot brighter!”
For the full list of artworks, events, and details on how to book for ticketed events, visit the Birmingham Light Festival website: https://www.birminghamlightfestival.co.uk/
