Preparations are underway for the return of Carlisle’s City of Lights event this October.
The event will feature lighting of the city’s key historic landmarks and a spectacular Son-et-Lumiere experience at Carlisle Cathedral and Carlisle Castle.
Tickets are now on sale from the Carlisle Tourist Information Centre and on DiscoverCarlisle.co.uk. The event will be held over three evenings -Thursday 14th, Friday 15th and Saturday 16th October.
Ticketholders will be able to enjoy the Son-et-Lumiere in two shows. The first held outside at Carlisle Cathedral, followed by the second at Carlisle Castle with sound and light projected onto the buildings transforming their facades.
The artwork ‘Life’ is designed to enable people to contemplate their own personal journeys and reflect upon life on today’s planet that happens in a single 24-hour period. The audience is taken from Sunrise to Sunset, journeying through the beauty of planet earth, witnessing the sun, the oceans and the clouds.
Human creativity is explored
The second artwork at Carlisle Castle is created from the textures and forms, and colours of human creativity. Developed from collections at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford the work is a celebration of the beauty of human life.
The artwork allows for contemplation of our human existence in the creation of our planet and our human impact upon it, reflecting ecology, extinction and the beauty of the world around us. The sounds and textures of humanity, extinction and time are portrayed.
Sounds heard are musical pieces composed by David Harper who has used within his works recorded anthropological soundtracks from collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum. The artwork and visual imagery are created by artist Peter Walker who has interpreted collections from the Natural History Museum Oxford and the William Morris Museum, depicting nature and artistically highlighting core issues in the subject of life on earth.
City of Lights is organised by Carlisle City Council’s Discover Carlisle team and Luxmuralis in association with Cumbria County Council, Carlisle Cathedral, Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery and English Heritage.
Carlisle City Council’s portfolio holder for culture, heritage and leisure Stephen Higgs said: “The inaugural City of Lights event in 2020 was a huge success with tickets completely selling out. We have worked hard to make this event bigger and better featuring both Carlisle Cathedral and Carlisle Castle.
“We also hope to light the gardens at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery. The event in 2020 was a boost for the local economy and we hope that as many city-centre businesses as possible can benefit from the additional footfall generated by this event.”
Peter Walker, Luxmuralis added: “We are delighted to return to Carlisle for the return of City of Lights.
“After the success of Space in 2019, inside the Cathedral, we are delighted to be presenting this exterior show this year. After the past 18 months and everything that we have collectively been through, I hope that Life will bring colour, and joy to the city over the City of Lights festival.”
