The first Light Up festival is coming to Poole, and will show the town in a completely new light. After dark on Thursday, February 15 until Saturday, February 17, Poole will be transformed using light art.
Sponsored by Poole BID and funded by Arts Council England, the festival will present art forms and artworks new to Poole. A key element of the festival is the involvement of the community and artists that are working with local schools on a series of projects. The festival also has a number of opportunities to get involved such as helping with stewarding, artist support and interacting with visitors – a great way to gain experience of working at a major arts event*.
Designed to challenge the perception of art and provoke visitors to participate and become part of the festival, the theme of ‘Identity’ will be explored using projections, interactive light and sound.
Jonathan Sibbett, chair of Poole BID, commented: “We’re so thrilled to be involved with the Light Up Poole festival, it’s set to be a fantastic showcase of the creative talent we have locally. We hope to build on the success of this and have it become a regular addition to the Poole event timetable. There’s something for everyone over the three days and of course it’s a great start to the 40thyear celebrations for Lighthouse.”
Some of the festival highlights include:
:: Seeglass – an animated light sculpture by Stuart Langley who has worked with sea glass to be lit and transformed by designs created in the Seeglass app. Visitors can create their own designs at seeglasspoole.co.uk which may be incorporated in the final sequence.
:: FLO – a new mobile game from Bournemouth-based designers Amuzo working as Rogue Games, is to be premiered at the festival. Visitors will be able to play the game projected outside Lighthouse; the goal is to travel as far as you can above and below ground. Prizes will be awarded each night for the player that lasts the longest.
:: Film poetry – using spoken and printed words, visual images and sound, film poetry celebrates collaboration. Working with ArtfulScribe, Poole Museum is hosting workshops and film poems will be projected in Falkland Square and screened at Lighthouse in the spring. Participants are also invited to enter a competition to be judged by photographic artist Helen Dewberry and poet-filmmaker Chaucer Cameron. The top three films will be projected at town centre venues during the festival and ten shortlisted films will be shown later at Lighthouse. A prize of £500 will be awarded for the winning title.
:: Vloggin’ – Light Up Poole is out to discover the ‘vlogstars’ of tomorrow. Working with Bournemouth University and Lighthouse, young people aged 16 – 21 are invited to a weekend of workshops on Saturday, 27 and Sunday, 28 January**. For £10 they can learn skills such as how to shoot and edit on smartphones, understand sound and lighting, use video editing apps and improve multimedia skills. Participants will be invited to submit a vlog with the opportunity to be selected as an official vlogger for the festival.
:: Sounds of Poole / Arts Conversations – Sounds of Poole is a music technology project created by SoundStorm. Working with sound artist Jon Adams, students have recorded sounds from the town and created a soundscape album to be played at the Fish Shambles during the festival. Jon is also hosting Arts Conversations, a series of informal talks based around the artworks on show.
