Bristol Light Festival 2024
The 2024 Bristol Light Festival took place from Friday 2 – Sunday 11 February 2024, a 10-day light trail illuminating various locations throughout Bristol city centre. It showcases a collection of local, national and internationally-renowned light artists. The Unfolding saw the ruins of Temple Church illuminated by SLX, a long standing SGM rental and production partner. By invitation from Katherine Jewkes, Bristol Light Festival's Creative Director, Alex Keighley and his team utilised SGM's powerful and durable exterior products to beautifully complement the evocative sound track by Hannah Peel and Bristol-based Paraorchestra’s No. 1 Classical Chart Album.
"The Unfolding allowed people to stop, pause and contemplate their surroundings in a usually bustling city centre location. We noticed that the audience usually stayed for more than one rendition of the orchestral piece, allowing more time to see, hear and feel the city in a calm and meditative way. As SLX is a Bristol based company with a proud history of live events and productions in the region, it was great to be able to give back to the community via a unique and immersive festival experience. SGM's range of creative lighting tools enabled me to realise my design vision as I would have in a theatre."
Alex Keighley, Senior Project Manager at SLX
The Idea Behind
G-7 Spots created gobo and texture details to inside walls of the church. Circular visuals were key, as the old remains of the Templar Church was of a circular design so this was loosely interpreted onto the walls as part of the piece of work.
G-7 BeaSt were used to recreate the 8 missing church pillars with light; mainly used in a vertical format however perspective also allowed the creation a “spire” of light above the church.
P-6 Wash illuminated the bell tower in richly saturated colour and full range of dynamic whites
Since its launch in 2020 which attracted 100,000 people to interact with and enjoy city centre spaces filled with colour and light, visitor numbers grew to 275,000 and encouraged an estimated £3.4 million increase in spend to Bristol in 2024.
Over the years, Bristol Light Festival has consistently brought tangible benefits to the local community, building the local economy, investing in local businesses, creating accessible training opportunities and inspiring local children and putting Bristol firmly on an international culture map. It is and always will be 100% free for the public to attend, with the festival being put on for everyone to enjoy.
Products used
8 G7s – gobos and texture to inside walls of church. Circular gobo was key, as the old remains of the Templar Church was of a circular design so this was loosely interpreted onto the walls as part of the piece of work.
G7beast – to recreate the 8 missing church pillars with light, these were mainly used in a vertical format, however perspective also allowed us to create a “spire” of light above the church.
Credits
SLX team:
Creative Producer – Alex Keighley
Lighting designer – Kate Bonney
Programmer – Neil Foulis
Music – Hannah Peel and Paraorchestra