illuminating York puts visitors in the picture with new app
Wednesday 26 – Saturday 29 October, 18:00 – 22:00
Visitors to this year’s illuminating York will be encouraged to make their own luminescent artworks, with a specially commissioned free mobile phone app that enables you to add colour to your evening visit. Created by York-based New Moon Games, the app enables users to add neon-light style effects to photographs of York’s city streets during the festival to create an online gallery of designs.
“With free city-wide wifi, this app will add a new dimension to illuminating York this year. Visitors will be able to stretch their imaginations whilst enjoying the main illuminated exhibits of this year’s event,” comments Kate McMullen, Head of Tourism for Make It York, which co-ordinates the festival on behalf of a city-wide steering group.
“This year’s exhibits range from creating new architecture with beams of light within York Minster, to a forest of glowing trees at York St John University, with gardens of light, technical projections, light-animated sculptures and circles of light to be found throughout the city, along with architectural lighting of key buildings including Clifford’s Tower, St Michael le Belfry and the city walls – what better source of inspiration could there be?”
The app will be available for download on Apple and Android devices throughout the festival, and is geo-linked so that it works within York city centre. Visitors can take advantage of the app anywhere in the city – whether following the Bunny Lamps Trail around the city, or enjoying the international street food available each evening in Shambles Food Court.
The app is powered by Ar.tifact, New Moon Games’ augmented reality platform and adds a virtual colour revolution to the real-world transformative effects seen throughout the city through the use of light. “It’s been a pleasure to work with illuminating York and Make it York to develop this experience. The aim is to encourage people to create and share their Augmented Reality light paintings and we can’t wait to see what people come up with,” comments Andy Nye, Managing director of New Moon Games.
Supported by Arts Council England, this year’s festival features six newly commissioned artworks using light, a series of lighting designs by local schools and the Society of Light and Lighting, architectural lighting of Clifford’s Tower and Royal York Hotel by Lumenpulse and a host of ‘Fringe’ events to create evenings to remember across York’s historic streets, as well as the popular Bunny Lamps Trail.
For more details, or to download the app, please visit www.illuminatingyork.org.uk. Updates on this year’s Festival will be displayed on Twitter @illuminateyork and the latest work-in-progress pictures of some of this year’s artworks on Instagram at illuminatingyork
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The festival gains over 50,000 ‘visits’ every year
- Over the past ten years the festival has commissioned over fifty artworks for the city
- illuminating York is a member of ‘Light Up the North’, a network of seven light festivals taking place in cities across the North of England www.lightupthenorth.com
- illuminating York was named by The Guardian in its top ten European Lighting Festivals
- In 2015 the illuminating York Festival was nominated for a Dulux Colour Award
- illuminating York is managed by Make It York on behalf of a city-wide steering group, chaired by Liz Page, Historic Properties Director (North) - English Heritage
- The principal funder of the festival is Arts Council England, with additional funding from ticketing and private sponsors
- illuminating York is organised by Make It York supported by Arts Council England. This year’s partners include English Heritage, National Railway Museum, The Society of Lighting and Light, York Minster and York St John University.
Eight key highlights in this year’s illuminating York will be:
York Minster – ‘Light Masonry’ by Jason Bruges Studio
After a triumph lighting The Shard in London on New Year’s Eve, Jason Bruges Studio will become ‘light masons’ within the cavernous nave of York’s gothic cathedral. Using only white light and particulate suspended in the air, visitors will experience spectacular choreographed spaces carved out of light. This is the only paid-for commission, with standard admission prices of £8 for adults and £3.50 for children, which also includes admission to the East End exhibition and Chapter House. Each ticket is allocated a time slot and family ticket deals are available. Tickets are available from York Theatre Royal box office. Family tickets are also available.
York St John University – David Ogle’s ‘Lumen’
A new venue for illuminating York, the historic quad at York St John’s Lord Mayor’s Walk campus will be occupied by a forest of light. Visitors can walk amongst skeletal coloured luminescent trees, to experience the unusual light and shade cast by their glowing branches, with further exhibitions and performances by York St John Students to discover around the campus. Free.
National Railway Museum (NRM) – Heinrich and Palmer’s ‘Travelling Light’
Pioneers of large-scale illuminated art, Heinrich and Palmer turn their attention to the Workshop at NRM, creating an experience that brings together projection, light drawings, film and sound in the working heart of the museum, where engines are maintained and restored. Visitors will also see the return of Locos in a Different Light, at the NRM, where the halls and locomotives are transformed with colour and light by theatre lighting design students. Free.
Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate – ‘Re Connecting Re Creation’ by Helen Maurer
Secrets in the stained glass inspire the displays inside this historic building as Helen Maurer creates a compelling installation using light, glass and mirrors to project shape and colour onto the walls and ceiling. Free.
Shambles – ‘Orbit’ by Studio PSK
Regularly voted one of Britain’s most picturesque streets, Studio PSK has designed ‘Orbit’ which will be installed along the entire length of the world-famous Shambles. Arcs of light will revolve above the heads of the visitors encircling views of the iconic street, prompting them to look up from the historic street. Free.
King’s Square – ‘Loopy Lou’ by Rémi Brun
“Loopy Lou” presents a skipping figure, whose movements are created by just a few LED lights. In daylight, Brun’s sculpture looks like an abstract wire construction, but after dark, the LED lights that dance around create a depiction of a skipping girl, based on the artist’s daughter playing. Remi Brun lives and works in Paris and this is the first time his work has been shown in a UK light festival. Free.
‘Pockets of Light’ by Society of Light & Lighting Projects – various locations
The Society of Light & Lighting– the top industry body for those working in the lighting sector – will be working with schools around York to create lighting schemes for three venues, including parts of the city walls and St Michael-le-Belfry. Free.
Bunny Light Trail – various locations between the major installations
Making a return after its debut last year will be the popular Bunny Light Trail, in collaboration with York contemporary design store Snow Home, where 50 bunny lights customised by artists and creatives will be placed in shop and business windows across the city centre.
Adding to the main programme will be a packed festival Fringe programme with venues across the city taking part, from candlelit tours of Fairfax House to Gregorian Latin Chant with ‘Illuminations by Visions of York’ in All Saints North Street Church.
Make It York (York’s Destination Organisation) – Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally - as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business.
Visit York is a part of Make It York and is the leisure tourism brand
Under the brand Visit York, Make It York’s aim is to market York as a must-see world-class destination to the leisure visitor and ensure investment to develop the quality of tourism in York.
Key tourism facts:
6.8 million visitors annually, £608 million total visitor spend, supporting 23,300 jobs.
For further media information, interviews or photographs, please contact:
Jay Commins, Samantha Orange or Nicola Bexon
Pyper York Limited
On Behalf of Make It York:
Tel: 01904 500698
Email: jay@pyperyork.co.uk, sam@pyperyork.co.uk or nicola@pyperyork.co.uk
