Thanks to Without Walls for including the following feature in their newsletter.

Severn Arts: Bridges of Light by Elaine Knight

• Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 October, 6pm - 9pm
• Worcester City Centre

Bridges of Light is a new two-day light festival that is focused on community, creativity and collaboration. Through high quality light artwork, you are invited to share in their community stories, visit their light installations, immerse yourself in the interactive artworks, grab a bite to eat, and enjoy the city’s festival with family and friends.

Bridges of Light is a free, non-ticketed event suitable for all ages. We asked Elaine Knight, Arts Director, Severn Arts to tell us more about it.

How did the idea for Bridges of Light come to be? Tell us more about community involvement in the festival, and the collaboration with the Local Voices, Creative Choices programme.

Earlier this year, Worcester was awarded £800,000 through Arts Council England’s Place Partnership fund to develop creative talent and festivals across the city. Bridges of Light is the first of three annual festivals that will be produced in Worcester over the next two years. 

Worcester’s Place Partnership programme, led by the consortium under the banner Local Voices, Creative Choices, will also support emerging talent, offer opportunities for artists and communities and really celebrate Worcester city’s cultural offer.

Whilst Bridges of Light builds on previous festivals, a key difference is the focus on communities, collaboration and creativity. We have moved away from purely touring work to artists working collaboratively with our communities, creating high-quality artwork with much greater local resonance and relevance. Artworks are being co-created in workshops leading up to the festival and through visitor interactions on both nights.

What can people expect when they attend?

The programme includes nine artworks. Six invite the visitor in different ways to immerse themselves in the magic and wonder of each installation. And three are seeking playful participation on the night to bring the installations to life. There are also two light trails linking all the artworks together and a Giant Arctic Fox Puppet will be flying over the crowds at various points in the city!

Everything is free to attend, suitable for all ages and you don’t need a ticket for anything.

What do you think people will take away from the festival?

Our hope is that people will feel joyful and proud of their city, their communities and the fact that a cultural event of this quality and scale has been created on their doorstep. 

How do you expect the festival to grow in the coming years?

This year we will have worked with participants from more than ten different community groups. Next year we will be striving for more community engagement in the development of the programme.

Local Voices Creative Choices is a Creative Development Network (CDN) partner in Without Walls, a network of organisations bringing innovative outdoor arts to towns and cities across England. Find out more on withoutwalls.com