And finally… light fever

Light Night Leeds returns for its 20th edition in October, with The Tetley in Vastint’s Aire Park set to play a starring role.

Billed as the UK’s largest light art festival, Light Night will take place across the city centre on 24 and 25 October, bringing a programme of large-scale projections, live street theatre and interactive installations to a variety of recognisable buildings and locations.

Over the past two decades, the event has attracted more than 1.1 million visitors to the city, with last year’s Light Night seeing a record 200,000 people attending.

In celebration of the 20th edition, this year’s event will feature an array of new creations by artists from around the world, with some popular artworks from previous years also returning.

Among the installations at this year’s free, family-friendly programme will be Norwegian artist Anastasia Isachsen’s Monad, which will be projected onto the water at Leeds Dock.

Parallels by Architecture Social Club will see multi-coloured laser beams, which pulse and flicker to a mesmerising electronic soundscape  outside The Tetley, reopened this year under Vastint’s stewardship, with Kirkstall Brewery now in situ.

MAPP, by Dutch duo AlexP will capture the silhouettes of participants in amongst colourful images and patterns, all projected from an old-fashioned pram.

Live street performances will feature a giant Ghost Caribou, the return of the ever-popular Spark Drummers and a fire-breathing dragon.

Other artworks, including a piece on The Queens Hotel, will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Cllr Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “Light Night is always one of the most anticipated and popular events in the city’s cultural calendar, bringing hundreds of thousands of people and families into the heart of Leeds each year to enjoy what is always a truly magical spectacle.

“The event also exemplifies the power of arts and culture to inspire, capture imaginations and unite people and communities for what is a positive and memorable shared experience.”