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Birmingham Light Festival
Birmingham City Centre was lit up in February with 11 very different curated art installations which transformed multiple locations, from 6pm each evening with artwork popping up in public spaces of Birmingham. The event demonstrated the impact of providing a space and opportunity for people to engage with arts and culture. The environments created allowed adults to reconnect with their inner child, while children played safely and enjoyed outdoor play surrounded by cultural experiences. It enable people to feel more interconnected and rooted in the outdoor spaces they would normally just walk through on their way to work or shopping. The spaces supported individuals of all ages, backgrounds and cultures to interact, share a space and collaborate unconditionally.
It enhanced peoples mood, by participating in some of the interactive activities, reduced isolation and loneliness for people who visited on their own. In Centenary Square where I was a zone manager I observed three young men for Ireland teaming up with a young man who was on his own from Birmingham who was waiting in the queue with them to play ten minutes of badminton, on the court together. Total strangers connecting, those lads from Ireland connected with the young man from Brum, they all had fun playing badminton together. Despite the cold weather and rain people came out to participate in all the wonderfully curated light installations. The evaluation report showed much more people came to the light festival this year than last.
“Birmingham Light Festival drove a city-centre footfall increase of, on average, 71% during the event period (versus the same dates in 2024) with the inaugural event delivering 64,000 visits.
A full programme of over 50 events gave visitors the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the festival, and 74% of audiences surveyed said they travelled to the city-centre specifically to experience Birmingham Light Festival”. (Colmore Business District)
The engaging art installations which were located across the city were funded, designed and curated by a multitude of teams and patron's. Here’s a list of installations and locations:
FLUX, created by Collective Scale, music by Gregory Semah, was a mesmerising display of dancing light beams and exciting electronic music, held at Snow Hill Square.
Centenary Square was transformed into a space for play, featuring several participatory artworks such as Floor is LAVA x Silent Disco. This project was funded by United By 2022 and created by Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces. Secondly, visitors enjoyed Twist & Shine by Kaleider, a collection of interactive light prisms that can be twisted into thousands of shapes. Thirdly, Badminton England challenged visitors to night badminton.
Un-Reel Access by Kappa, a mysterious glowing locked door, at New Street Station.
Positive Spin by Liz Harry was a 5-metre-high interactive artwork which generates animated illustrations of the spinner’s fortunes, at The Mailbox.
St. Paul’s Square featured Mycelium Network by Stevie Thompson, which used fibre-optic lighting to recreate the underground fungal networks that help plants grow, celebrating the hidden energy of the Earth.
Peace Poem by Emergency Exit Arts, an illumination of the beautiful words of poet Robert Montgomery, at Hippodrome Square. Throughout the night, breathtaking butterflies were animated by Birmingham-based performers, adding a touch of magic to the message of peace.
Alright Bab!, a collaboration between Colmore BID, local merchandise business Brumbox and Midland’s based production company, Taylex Group, pays homage to this iconic Brummie greeting.
Ideas Happen Here, a collaborative project between local agency Rough Diamond, The Whitmore Collection, RAWLS, Taylex Group, and Jewellery Quarter BID, manifested as an abstract and free-form light bulb. This piece serves as a testament to the Jewellery Quarter’s remarkable historical achievements in innovation, manufacturing, and design.
The city-wide festival featured three additional legacy artworks, with thanks to funding support from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which will remain in situ after the festival ended, in a bid to brighten city spaces over time.
Alongside the illuminated artworks, there was a programme of over 50 events which took place, hosted by organisations and venues across Birmingham.
