Lumiere festival unveils dazzling 2021 edition
Thursday 18 – Sunday 21 November, 37 international artworks are lighting up Durham County, illuminating the city centre and historical landmarks across the North East of England as part of Lumiere, the UK’s leading light festival. The festival has transformed Durham City since 2009, and the significant new 2021 programme has taken world-class light art across the county for the first time for people to view both in the city and the surrounding countryside and coast.
The new programme features Marks in the Landscape, inviting international artists to respond to iconic landmarks spanning 500 years of history, from the 13th century ruins of Finchale Priory to the Penshaw Monument, a 70ft Victorian structure which can be seen from 20 miles away. The sites were chosen as unique examples of places where humans have intervened in the landscape. Collectively they showcase the diversity of the landscapes of County Durham, which is bidding to become the UK’s City of Culture in 2025.
Other highlights include Lumiere’s first collaboration with leading writers Kae Tempest, Michael Rosen, Roger Robinson and US Presidential inauguration poet Amanda Gorman, whose words are projected onto the ancient walls of Durham Castle. On Palace Green, the façade of Durham Cathedral will be transformed into an immersive reflection on the present moment of both loss and hope. Lumiere is produced by creative company Artichoke, and commissioned by Durham County Council with additional support from Arts Council England and Durham University.
For further information, please visit lumiere-festival.com.
Image Credit: In Our Hearts Blind Hope, Palma Studio. Lumiere 2021, produced by Artichoke. Image courtesy of Matthew Andrews.
