I will hold my hands up and say that, as someone who has lived in Leeds for three years now, I have never been to a Light Night! Well, that is a half-truth as I caught the last hour of it last year when trying to get back home amidst the natural liveliness the event draws in. So, with my time in this city soon coming to an end (cry), I felt it only appropriate to attend this year’s light night!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the event, Light Night occurs every October across two nights, providing spectators the opportunity to see Leeds in a new, illuminated way. The installations are provided by local, national and international artists, with art ranging from light projections to street performers, to interactive pieces. It essentially offers a new, exciting way to explore the city.
The theme this year was ‘playful city’, which is a concept I really enjoyed! The brief allowed for a lot of room for artists interpretation and interpretation we did see! There were quite literal representations of ‘play’ at the Queen’s Hotel, where a projection of various funfair rides, such as waltzers, engulfed the building, similar to the projection of 80s science fiction video game ‘Lux’ playing simultaneously at Civic Hall. We also saw ‘playful’ in the interactive ‘Continuum’ at millennium square, which allowed for spectator engagement through sound that could be felt as well as heard – a personal favourite of mine! Not to mention the return of the group ‘spark’, who immersed the audience in music, choreography and light, which made for a lively and entertaining watch when passing through Trinity. Honestly, I could write for an age about the different wonderful attractions, but I think you catch the idea.
All the installations dotted around the city certainly played (no pun intended) into the theme, with a perfect mix of literal interpretations and more fluid, abstract concepts. The theme ‘playful city’ invited a lot more colour, vibrancy, movement and sound, making the night very engaging and entertaining. My only advice for next time: PRE-PLAN! Towards the end of the night, my friends and I realised there was a specific mapped route for spectators to follow, which, very unsurprisingly, would’ve made our night of aimless walking a lot easier. Nonetheless, hindsight is a wonderful thing and as long as you learn from my mistakes, all is not lost.
So, if you missed out this year, make sure to check out the Light Night website to get a feel for all the attractions from this year and those gone. I truly enjoyed the magic of Leeds Light Night and would recommend to anyone who lives in and around the city to mark it in their calendars and visit next year!
Written by: Olivia Feltus
Edited by: Neeve Pulford