After the huge success of the first-ever Light Up Leicester event in 2020, the city-wide illuminated festival of world-class art returns to Leicester in March 2022, shining a light on the city’s growing importance as a destination for arts and culture.
From 3rd to 6th March, Leicester’s residents, as well as visitors from further afield, can see the city streets filled again with illuminated interactive artworks as part of the free four-day festival – and this year promises to be even bigger and better than before.
In its second edition, this year’s festival will include impressive, large-scale projects from some of the world’s most exciting and renowned artists. These awe-inspiring illuminations will form a trail of 9 light-based installations, which will be placed around the city centre for visitors to discover, be immersed by, and enjoy.
The festival promises to showcase illuminated art from some of the world’s leading ‘light’ artists, with many of the pieces being brought to the city for the first time. Pulse by This is Loop will feature a huge tunnel of light and sound, roughly the size of an articulated lorry, with tightly synchronised pulses of light triggered by the soundtrack, creating an immersive and unforgettable experience for visitors.
Simon Jenner, Director of BID Leicester said “It’s incredibly exciting to see the return of Light Up Leicester to the city. Not only will we unveil brand new pieces of art, but we will also be working with internationally renowned artists in this area. Visitors will be able to experience Fantastic Planet, a large-scale work by Amanda Parer on Orton Square, consisting of giant, inflatable, glowing human sculptures that seem to have just landed on earth.
The piece will be a showstopper that will give audiences a moment of wonder. We’re thrilled to build on the success of the last festival in 2020 and to continue bringing events like these to the city centre. We’re expecting audiences of over 70,000 to attend across the four days of the festival, which is a fantastic boost for local businesses as well.”
There will also be the opportunity for people in Leicester to create their own light sculptures, which can be displayed from their windows at home to light up their communities through home kits, created by artist Sean Clarke, which can be ordered online. The community light creations can be exhibited at a brand-new art space on Churchgate called BETA X, which will be hosting a ‘Light Café’ as part of the festival. In this new space at 72 Churchgate, workshops will be running daily during half term (14th to 17th February), with the possibility for visitors to make their own customised lights using eco-friendly recycled materials.
Local schools will also be participating in the festival by creating their own lighting installations using these lighting kits to build their own mini-illuminations which will be on display at the festival for parents, teachers and local communities to explore.
The return of this incredibly popular and memorable festival will be a great addition to Leicester’s cultural calendar and an event that will hopefully light the way for a great year ahead across the city.
Light Up Leicester is presented by Leicester City Council, BID Leicester and ArtReach. It has been made possible by the support of Arts Council England.
