By Jasmine Davey
Lumiere, Durham’s biennial light festival, has announced the first five attractions for 2025. These include works contributed by a retired council officer and a former carer, who are local to Durham.
The festival comprises of creations from both local and international renowned artists, who are encouraged to reimagine locations around Durham City. Previous displays have included Liquid Geometry (2023, Javier Riera), which featured a series of three-dimensional projections on Palace Green, and Illuminated Bottle Rack (2018, Ai Weiwei), which displayed 61 antique chandeliers hanging from an upside down bottle rack inside Durham Cathedral.
Whilst the details for the 2025 artworks have not yet been released, they are expected to be inspired by Durham City. One of the artists, Kevin Edworthy, who volunteers at Durham Cathedral, told The Chronicle that he was inspired by the streets of Durham, and his time photographing people in the “romantic” city.
“I love Lumiere and what it does for our city”, Edworthy told The Chronicle. “Its great when Lumiere reflects life in our city and that’s what I’ve focused on.”
Lumiere is one of the largest events in the North East calendar, featuring nearly 40 art installations and attracting 160,000 visitors. The festival invites local residents to take part; in 2023, it was produced by over 300 volunteers and nearly 2,000 community participants.
The 2025 festival will run from the 13th to the 15th November.
Image: Jasmine Davey
