CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON GETTING AROUND LIGHT NIGHT LEEDS
Here are 15 Family friendly things you might want to consider taking a look at over the two evenings:
1. LUX
Thursday & Friday, 7pm-10.30pm
Inside a futuristic control pod, inspired by classic 80s sci-fi and retro-futuristic games, players use contactless gesture controls to play with a wondrous projection mapped onto the architecture of Leeds Civic Hall. LUX is an exciting immersive augmented reality game and art installation that challenges players to apply creative problem-solving skills in response to a dynamic environment, seeing the building come alive with light and energy as they progress.
Leeds Civic Hall, Millennium Square, LS1 1UR
2. Continuum
Thursday & Friday, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
This immersive artwork, presented for the first time in the UK, stands 2.5 metres tall and consists of a 20 metre geometric maze of illuminated and resonating mirrors. These luminescent sonic monoliths create a sense of an infinite space around the audience, redefining our understanding of a very familiar urban environment. When audience members approach the towers the exciters are activated and an enchanting and all-encompassing soundscape is created. Sounds that can be felt as well as heard.
Leeds City Museum, Millennium Square, LS2 8BH
3. Family Friendly Fun
Thursday & Friday 6.30 – 10.30pm
There will be a range of activity happening at Wellington Place on Light Night, suitable for all the family. See performances by the LED Winged Ballerinas, a stunning, choreographed ballet performance incorporating light and movement, at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm, and don’t miss the opportunity for free UV Facepainting and become part of Light Night’s displays!
Wellington Place, LS1 4AP
4. A Time to Play
Friday 7pm – 10:15pm
On Light Night the magnificent interior of Leeds Cathedral will come alive with music! Playing music is an expression of ourselves to others, participation in the creation of something beautiful, and a reflection of the eternal exchange of love that existed before all time. You are invited to spend some time in the Cathedral and join in that playful exchange between musicians and their listeners which, however fleeting, points to the eternal.
Leeds Cathedral, Cookridge Street, LS2 8BE
5. Bubbles
Thursday & Friday, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
This colourful lighting installation was inspired by support groups known as ‘Bubbles’ during the 2020 Lockdown when we could zoom together virtually but be physically separated. The artists and designers at Arup played on this idea and on the visible light spectrum of rainbows which symbolise pride, solidarity, and hope. This piece imagines two bubbles floating close to each other in space, almost touching but not quite. Formed out of a lightweight geodesic structure, dichroic and reflective panels transmit and reflect colour and light between the two. There are two openings, one into each bubble and the concept allows visitors to enter, be close but separate, and interact in a unique way. Lumascape, supported by Architainment, have provided lighting and controls to dynamically switch the flow of light in the space, activating the surfaces of the bubbles to create ever-changing colours.
Leeds Library, Commercial Street, LS1 6AL
6. Spark!
Thursday & Friday 6:30 pm, 7:20 pm, 8:10 pm, 9:30 pm (20 mins)
Join the amazing Spark! as they return to Light Night to take you on an otherworldly adventure with a mesmerising mix of music, movement and mayhem! You’ll be immersed in an electrifying experience with live music, choreography and a visual spectacle of light and colour. Spark! create a sense of mystery and mischief as performers weave in and around the audience in a whirlwind of fun, fantasy and sequins! These magical characters will be performing in Trinity Leeds several times a night throughout the Light Night event.
Event Space, Trinity Leeds & Albion Street, LS1 5ER
7. House of Cards
Thursday & Friday, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
Building a House of Cards nowadays may sound nostalgic – but there is more to it than just childhood memories! OGE Group’s House of Cards is a light art installation that is slick and joyful in the daytime and turns into a beautiful light show at night. It consists of 128 light boxes in the form of playing cards, which illuminate according to a preconfigured choreography. The ingenious structure has several levels; it looks like a modern church from one side and like a classical structure of building blocks from the other. Will it blow away or continue to rise up towards the heavens? The fate of the house of cards wobbles between the two. Up or down – it’s far from decided. For now, House of Cards remains standing, shining in the night, reaching for the stars…
Sydney Street (Outside Victoria Gate)
8. Hackspace Cubed
Thursday & Friday, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
The cube is back! Light Night regulars may remember this fantastic installation from a previous festival. This year it will find a home at Kirkgate Market and Leeds Hackspace invite you to come and play with this interactive, wildly colourful monument to fun! Watch the revitalised lightshow in 3 dimensions in this 2.5-meter cube installation, or join in with the brand new interactive sessions and explore the relationship between digital and physical worlds.
Food Hall, Kirkgate Market, Vicar Lane Entrance, LS2 7HY
9. Dream Aquarium
Thursday & Friday 7pm – 10.30pm
There is something a bit fishy going on… Part of Leeds Art Gallery looks very different for Light Night Leeds but can you sea what has been transformed? This project has gone swimmingly curtesy of our friends at QED who are the technical masters behind many of our big projection works.
Victoria Gardens, The Headrow, LS1 3AA
10. End Over End
Thursday & Friday, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
End Over End is a sculpture of a large scale slinky, a familiar toy to most cultures and generations. In this giant form it is both nostalgic and surrealistic, playfully transforming buildings and rooftops into a virtual playground. Each coil of the enormous spring is illuminated in turn to create the familiar flowing form of a slinky tumbling end-over-end into the shadows. The oversized scale makes the viewer feels ‘smaller’ – proportions between you and the toy are reversed as if we have somehow shrunk and ended up in Alice’s Wonderland.
Plinth, Playhouse Square, Quarry Hill, LS2 7UP
11. Affinity
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.
Sponsored by Aire Park.
Part of the Waterways Trail.
The Tetley, Hunslet Road, LS10 1JQ
12. Illumaphonium
Thursday & Friday, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
The Illumaphonium is a dynamic and interactive, multi-sensory, music making installation. Created by musician and inventor Michael Davis, these semi-acoustic, semi-automatic, multi-player musical sculptures stand over three and a half meters tall and consist of more than a hundred illuminated chime bars. Each of these bars respond to touch, with ever changing patterns of light and sound, spreading out like waves over the surface. Come and play with these giant instruments on Briggate and make a little Light Night music.
Bond Court, LS1 2JZ
13. Joy Ride
Thursday & Friday, 7.30pm – 10.30pm (repeats throughout the evening)
Greenaway & Greenaway return to Light Night Leeds with the spectacle JOYRIDE. This frenetic projection experience will bring thrills and spills to City Square with a unique visit to a Future Funfair. With the emphasis on high-octane play, the show turns The Queens Hotel into a juxtaposition of retro/future aesthetic design. This brand-new commission for Light Night Leeds features crazy rides and a dynamic soundtrack, twisted for the 21st century.
City Square, LS1 1PJ
14. Illuminated Swim
Thursday to Saturday, 6.30pm – 10pm
An immersive and playful light installation in the historic setting of Bramley Baths. Experience a swim like no other as a cloud of colour and light hovers over the waters of the pool, creating an ever changing and surreal environment as you move through the water. Artist Tine Bech’s vision was to create a live painting you could dive in to and, inspired by Rothko, she has created a massive immersive installation, transforming the familiar surroundings of this community pool into something other worldly and unique.
Bramley Baths, Broad Lane, LS13 3DF
15. Light Night 2022 at Left Bank
Thursday & Friday October, 6pm – 10pm
Please pre-book a 15 min timeslot. Booking link coming soon.
Get ready to party at Left Bank with a unique illuminated play session on the incredible, inflatable sculpture, Heaven. Heaven was co-created by artist Pippa Hale and local families as we emerged from the pandemic in 2021. Disco lights and the ultimate party soundtrack hosted by Party People Project, who work with adults with learning difficulties, will create a spectacular multi-sensory environment for playful bouncing and dancing. Age is un-important here and everyone is invited to play – bouncing is optional but highly recommended!
Location: Left Bank Leeds, Cardigan Road, LS6 3DQ
Light Night Leeds 2022 Festival Guide
The guide is essential in getting the most out of your Light Night experience. It features everything you need to know about what’s happening on 13 and 14 October, with full colour maps and information about every artwork and interactive event.
All proceeds from the sales of the festival guides go directly into supporting the event and help to keep it free to attend.
For more details on Light Night Leeds and where you can purchase a festival guide visit: whatson.leeds.gov.uk/lightnight
Have a great night!
