The UK’s largest light festival is free to visit and takes place north and south of the river Thames – including Lambeth. Everyone is invited!
Lumiere lights up London
Bigger, brighter and bolder, the Lumiere London light festival returns for a spectacular second edition. More than 50 artworks transform buildings and streets into a dazzling nocturnal art exhibition.
Lumiere London is commissioned by the Mayor of London, funded through a mix of public and private funders, sponsors and donors, and produced by Artichoke. It’s a world-class free festival from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 January 2018, 5.30pm-10.30pm each evening.
The people’s lights
This year Lambeth has involved local communities in creating two artworks to go on display in Lumiere:
- Bottle Festoon – Lambeth ran workshops where local people worked with an artist, turning recycled plastic bottles into amazing eco-friendly chandeliers for Bernie Spain Gardens.
- Umbrella Project – Cirque Bijou will choreograph volunteers from local community groups in pop-up performances with colourful LED umbrellas around the festival.
Lambeth highlights
Lambeth hosts work by international art stars:
- The London Eye – lighting up the South Bank with a custom-designed display “Eye Love London”.
- Images of dancers’ feet projected onto the Rambert Building (Upper Ground).
- Vivid tubes of fluorescent light twine like ivy on Oxo Tower Wharf.
- Thames Pulse at the Mondrian Hotel (Sea Containers House) translating live data about the health of the river into light displays.
- The Wave – 40 triangular, luminous gates that react to movement and sound, turning audience into artist.
- the National Theatre’s flytower transformed into a luminous monument.
- The Hayward Galley’s unique pyramid roof slowly changing through the spectrum from red to violet over 60 minutes.
- Pink neon ‘Raspberry Ripple’– on one hand its message is sweet and fruity, but it also reclaims words once used against people with disabilities.
For more information
- There are dozens more light sculptures in King’s Cross, Fitzrovia, London’s West End, Mayfair, Westminster & Victoria. Look for updates, FAQs and a full programme via Visit London
- To plan how to see everything you want, download a free Visit London app
- Choose your one, two- three or four day visit, or a family visit. The Lumiere programme includes advice on events and attractions nearby, such as the London Aquarium and concerts at the South Bank in Lambeth
- Central London roads will be closed – plan how to get around with information from Lumiere
- Get the latest updates at#LumiereLDN on Twitter and Instagram
For more about Artichoke and art installations they have organised in London and all over the world, see their project pages or Follow: @artichoketrust on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
