Light Night Leeds is the UK’s largest annual arts and light festival and returns this week on Thursday and Friday (13 & 14 October 2022). Whilst much of Light Night takes place in the city centre, here we highlight events south of the river.
For the past 17 years, over two incredible nights in October, some of Leeds’s most recognisable indoor and outdoor spaces have been transformed by spectacular artworks and captivating performances by local, national and international artists.
Light Night Leeds invites people to see the city in a new light and discover free arts events across the city centre. From large-scale light projections and interactive installations, to music, dance and street performances, there is always something for everyone.
Location: The Tetley, Hunslet Road, LS10 1JQ | Thursday and Friday, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
Affinity is a large-scale immersive interactive light and sound installation inspired by the human brain. Each light globe represents a neuron and connection in the brain. When people touch the light globe the colour changes, and the more people that interact the further their light travels throughout the huge sculpture. Affinity features 62 different colour combinations and 112 points of interaction for the audience.
A Room. Join artist Emily Binks to manoeuvre, play with and experience an immersive light installation in The Tetley’s South Bank Room using lights, neon and more. For younger children head to Tiny Tetley Studio, an artist-designed play space for children under 5. In this immersive environment you can touch, climb and slide!
The Tetley’s current exhibitions will also be open until 10:30pm and the Bar & Kitchen will be open serving street food and drinks.
Location: Leeds Dock, LS10 1PZ | Thursday & Friday, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
Lightstream. Artist Flora Litchfield is interested in exploring the balance between technology and nature – can we imagine a future where society lives and works with nature instead of against it? Lightstream is an immersive laser light installation exploring human perception through spatial audio-visual compositions. The installation draws our focus onto waters energy in the hope to bring us closer to the nature around us and find a new sense of harmony with the cityscape. Watch laser beams dance above Leeds Dock, bringing it to life with light and sound. Lightstream is an intuitive multi-sensory work with no understanding needed and can be enjoyed by any age.
The Shape of Light is a mesmerising floating art installation that showcases geometric arrangements of light and colour against the urban backdrop of Leeds Dock. The installation is situated on a pontoon that visitors can access and walk around. After sunset the installation will create a dazzling reflection in the water below, adding a new dimension to the experience. Parental supervision of children is required.
Inspired by the Optical Art illusions of the 1960s, Kinetic Perspective (on The Boulevard) takes a simple piece as its starting point: an ever-spinning circle moving outwards and its illusory effect. In this way, the artist creates an abstract, immersive geometric shape, playing with the perspective of visitors by giving the impression of movement. A row of eighteen illusions, each composed of two circles spinning in sync, gives the impression of a vanishing point at the eye level of visitors. Invited to actively participate and observe, the audience must move around to uncover the patterns, glimmers and distortions, in which a hidden geometry will be revealed.
Location: Armouries Square, Leeds Dock, LS10 1LT | Thursday & Friday, 6.15pm, 7pm, 7.45pm & 8.30pm
Light Knights and Castles. The ‘Chess Army’ needs you! Join the glowing pawn ranks to help our giant luminous castles, knights and bishops checkmate the opposition. A quirky, interactive performance inspired by the Royal Armouries collection and the Light Night ‘Play’ theme, with shows lasting between 15 and 20 minutes, and volunteers on hand all evening available to “show and tell” about the amazing puppets.
For full details of all Light Night events go to: www.lightnightleeds.co.uk
