Light Night 2024 at the University of Leeds

Inside Parkinson Court (What3Words for Parkinson Court: ///ruler.stay.invent)

Calling all future inventors, engineers and idea explorers! Be Curious at Light Night invites you to explore research from the University of Leeds. You’ll also get to learn about local Leeds legend John Smeaton and hear about the way his ideas are still making the world a better place.

Get creative and build your own loom, or maybe craft a robot hand, or even reflect on what makes your local area special.

This event is perfect for curious minds of all ages, so join us for a fun family-friendly evening.

Inside Stage@Leeds (What3Words for Stage@Leeds: ///wipe.hope.toast)

An installation using light, sound and movement that takes a playful look at the importance, usefulness and unusual properties of plants. Using the properties of Cinchona Bark which is the natural source for quinine, this installation invites you to help create an invisible forest. 

Draw a plant you can’t see, try a luminous drink and let’s create a forest of plants. 

An interactive environment that encourages you to draw and share nature in a new way. 

Inside Stage@Leeds (What3Words for Stage@Leeds: ///wipe.hope.toast)

Our retro gaming environment returns with the big screen, big sound and a distinctly jungle theme. Come and try old school gaming in a whole new way.

Collect a trail map from the welcome point by the Michael Sadler building (What3Words for the welcome point: ///crisis.tile.melt) or from Parkinson Court (What3Words for Parkinson Court: ///ruler.stay.invent)

Seek out the sounds of some of the creatures who call the University their home. From Peregrine Falcons to blackbirds, bats and hedgehogs, this trail explores the surprising richness of animal life on campus and how animals are affected by light after dark.

Outside in Beech Grove Plaza, near the Sign for Art (‘wavy bacon’) sculpture (What3Words for near the Sign for Art sculpture: ///loss.marker.fade)

Over 60 people have contributed to this bloom of glowing jellyfish above you in the trees. Artists Immortal Bloom have worked with reusable electronics, waste, and recycled materials, alongside a team of enthusiastic volunteers. Together, they’ve created a surreal and dream-like installation that reflects on the importance of reducing and repurposing single-use plastics.

Outside Laidlaw Library (What3Words for outside Laidlaw Library: ///librarian.remind.blur)

Newly commissioned installation in sound and light, inspired by the fascinating world of patterns that never repeat. These patterns have enthralled mathematicians, explained entirely unknown aspects of natural structures and created a puzzle that took six decades to solve.

Exploring their forms and formations, this dramatic large-scale installation is created through collaboration between projection artist Rebecca Smith (Urban Projections), University of Leeds’ Professor of Applied Mathematics Alastair Rucklidge and Dr Merin Joseph.

Inside the Pyramid Theatre in Leeds University Union (What3Words for Leeds University Union: ///hero.cares.lonely)

Iteration LN24 by artist and PhD researcher Kelly Cumberland combines art and science, using light and shadow to enhance our perception of complex cellular biological processes.

Outside Stage@Leeds (What3Words for Stage@Leeds: ///wipe.hope.toast)

Experience the enchanting Green Space in front of stage@leeds illuminated, with complimentary tea, coffee, or juice available for all to enjoy. Relax outdoors in this peaceful setting or in the theater foyer (weather dependent).

Under cover by the Social Sciences building (What3Words for the Social Sciences building: ///pumps.paper.sheet)

Explore the creativity of students in these specially commissioned pieces for Light Night. ‘Shed Light’ is a playful structure built by Fine Art graduate Ed Green from found and waste materials.

Inside Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery (What3Words for Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery: ///unless.twist.lows)

You Have seen Nothing Yet is a new commission by Dutch artist Boris Maas, inspired by Victorian Leeds painter John Atkinson Grimshaw, the ‘painter of moonlight’. 

Maas responds to the striking light effects in Grimshaw’s night-time cityscapes through a 21st century lens. Including both photography and a large-scale light installation, Maas creates a poetic interpretation of the spectacle of changing light at night.

Part of Smeaton300, this commission has been supported by LEEDS 2023 (Leeds Culture Trust) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the UK.

Inside Stage@Leeds (What3Words for Stage@Leeds: ///wipe.hope.toast)

Matthew Dangerfield, winner of the Berkovsky Award, has crafted an immersive environment delving into the life of Edward Carpenter – poet, philosopher, environmentalist, and advocate for gay rights. Through the use of sound, light, projection, and the extensive collection of Carpenter’s letters, notebooks, and photographs housed at the University, the exhibition brings Carpenter’s story to vibrant life. Born in 1844, Carpenter passionately championed gay equality, women’s rights, and environmental causes.

Outside the School of Music (What3Words for outside the School of Music: ///sung.crazy.quick)

This simple and beautiful installation brings a touch of the summer into October by lighting preserved leaves in the trees outside the School of Music. Experience an immersive storytelling session from 6pm or 7:15pm as you stand under the canopy. Visit the Be Curious maker space in Parkinson Court to find out more about the superpowers of the trees around you, from cleaning the air to keeping our cities cooler. 

Outside in Beech Grove Plaza, in between the Leeds University Union and the Social Science building (What3Words for Beech Grove Plaza: ///vanish.piano.spoil)

A multi-sensory and immersive light artwork, The Nectary invites visitors to step inside a giant flower for a unique perspective on nature. This family-friendly installation blends art and science, celebrating the vital role of pollinating insects. Artist Alison Smith and Dr Chris Hassall, a lecturer in Animal Biology at the University of Leeds, teamed up through the Cultural Institute’s Leeds Creative Labs programme to make the piece, which was sparked by the research of PhD student Thomas Daily, who explores bio-acoustics as an innovative way to monitor insect populations by listening to them.

Inside Clothworkers’ Centenary Concert Hall, in the School of Music (What3Words for Clothworkers’ Centenary Concert Hall: ///lower.safety.lock)

Open from 6pm to 10pm on Thursday 24 October, 8pm to 10pm Friday 25 October.

Star science and electronic music collide to create a star-scattering, immersive experience in the beautiful surroundings of the Clothworkers’ Centenary Concert Hall. Images of galaxies, stars and nebula shoot around you, responding to music created by students from the School of Music, based on the research of scientists in the Astrochemistry department.

Outside Leeds University Union (What3Words for outside Leeds University Union: ///aware.wires.bared)

A dancing figure is projected onto a wall near Leeds University Union, mapping a site of queer joy and translating a personal moment into a public celebration. This is a preview of Here Marks the Spot, a series of short dance films made in collaboration with artist Melanie Whitehead Smith and LGBTQ+ people in Leeds as part of Compass Festival 2024.

On the steps outside the Parkinson building (What3Words for Parkinson Steps: ///ruler.stay.invent)

The Leeds Piano Competition present three pianists playing a variety of light themed repertoire on our Parkinson Steps piano as part of the wider Leeds Piano Trail.

Outside Trinity St David’s (the old church), Woodhouse Lane, LS2 3AR (What3Words for outside Trinity St David’s: ///reader.violin.leans)

Join the National Poetry Centre outside their stunning new home, lit from within in spectacular fashion. Listen to poetry by renowned poet Maura Dooley who takes the theme of light and reflection as her starting point.

Outside at the Sign for Art (‘wavy bacon’) sculpture on Beech Grove Plaza (What3Words for the Sign for Art sculpture: ///froze.before.lands)

At the Sign for Art sculpture, an amazing figure emerges as the clock strikes each hour of Light Night (6pm, 7pm, 8pm and 9pm). Fusing traditional artistry and modern engineering, this carnival masquerade combines fiction and fantasy to imagine alternative Afro-futures. The masquerader joins us to perform its role in shaping destinies before fading into the night. Created through a collaboration between High Esteem Carnival Designs and the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds, the costume is worn by the renowned poet and multidisciplinary artist Khadijah Ibrahim.