Light up Leicester

The streets of Leicester were captivated by a hypnotic stream of light last weekend.

Light up Leicester truly transformed our dark winter evenings with a trail of light through the busy city streets this weekend. . The return of the festival was presented by BID Leicester, Leicester City Council and ArtReach and was supported by public funding by Arts Council England. The 4-day event took place each night till Sunday, from 6 pm till 10 pm, displaying nine sizable projects from some of the world’s most renowned artists.

The launch of the large-scale works that were witnessed included “Fantastic Planet”, a huge sculpture in Orton Square made by Amanda Parer that inhabited glowing humans that had just landed on earth.

There was “Pulse” created by This is Loop, placed in St Peter’s Square which created an immersive experience with a large spiral tunnel of lights and sound and explored the perspectives of visual and auditory perception.

BETA X, a new art space located at Churchgate, gave us an opportunity to experience beautiful art installations created by local artics such as Paul Mazzitelli, Leonie DuBarry-Gurr, Andy Harper and talented kids from local schools.

A favourite of mine was the “Distant Drums” by Whispered Tales where we were transported to the Reggae Sound System culture of Blues parties in Highfields with dynamic installations and booming sounds, MC’d by Reggae legend Solo Banton, with a cool Dub soundtrack by Vibronics.

It was heartwarming to see the people of Leicester come together, unite and witness such a beautiful, large-scale display of immersive artwork light up the city centre.

Check out what you missed on Twitter @Betaxleicester, @BIDLeicetser and with the hashtag #LightupLeicester