Light and Dark Festival - Sutton STEAMS Ahead
Light and Dark Festival
Autumn and Winter bring darker and colder months of the year, and for many across the world the theme of light and dark play significant cultural roles in celebrations during this time. While the individual customs and practices may differ, the underlying theme often revolves around the triumph of light over darkness, and the hope for renewal and warmth during the coldest and darkest time of the year.
Exploring ideas from the cultural and historical traditions and/or natural rhythms and scientific phenomena, the Light & Dark Festival connects and elevates Sutton’s diverse community by exploring the winter festivities celebrated across the borough, as well as exploring how creative technology can add value to the future of light festivals. This festival’s aim is to shed light on the beauty of cultural diversity, the science behind illumination, and how creativity and technology can create a more captivating cultural experience for visitors.
The festival is taking place between October 2023 and February 2024. Eight community-led events and two projection commissions will take place in this time, as well as one larger immersive event that will take place in the Sutton Central Library Gallery in January 2024. Visit the What's On page to find out more.
Workshops will be offered in the lead up to the immersive event that explore light as a medium, such as Light Painting and Cyanotypes. Local residents and community groups can share stories and uncover connections between light celebrations across cultures through these workshops. The results of these sessions will inform the final installation in January.
This immersive installation promises to be a cultural celebration, an inclusive community effort, and a symbol of unity, all while showcasing Sutton's vibrant diversity and creative spirit, symbolising community pride and triumph over darkness.
Exploring ideas from the cultural and historical traditions and/or natural rhythms and scientific phenomena, the Light & Dark Festival connects and elevates Sutton’s diverse community by exploring the winter festivities celebrated across the borough, as well as exploring how creative technology can add value to the future of light festivals. This festival’s aim is to shed light on the beauty of cultural diversity, the science behind illumination, and how creativity and technology can create a more captivating cultural experience for visitors.
The festival is taking place between October 2023 and February 2024. Eight community-led events and two projection commissions will take place in this time, as well as one larger immersive event that will take place in the Sutton Central Library Gallery in January 2024. Visit the What's On page to find out more.
About our Immersive Event
Prepare yourselves for an exciting large scale immersive audio-visual installation at Sutton Central Library in late January 2024. The London Borough of Sutton is working with creative studio SDNA to develop an exciting large-scale one-off event that will transform the space into a captivating digital tapestry, celebrating light across cultures. Visitors will be immersed in a world of light and sound, experiencing vibrant moving images that bring global light celebrations to life.Workshops will be offered in the lead up to the immersive event that explore light as a medium, such as Light Painting and Cyanotypes. Local residents and community groups can share stories and uncover connections between light celebrations across cultures through these workshops. The results of these sessions will inform the final installation in January.
This immersive installation promises to be a cultural celebration, an inclusive community effort, and a symbol of unity, all while showcasing Sutton's vibrant diversity and creative spirit, symbolising community pride and triumph over darkness.
About our Community-led events
The wider Light & Dark Festival will consist of a range of themed events led by Sutton's community celebrating light and dark that will be open to all. The following groups have received funding for their events:- African & Caribbean Heritage Association (ACHA)
- Artist Sandy Leong in collaboration with Community Action Sutton
- Creative Heritage
- Sutton Mitra Mandal
- Quick Draw Stories
- Sangam
- Sutton Mental Health Foundation
- Suttons Women's Centre together with People Arise now, Anna Virabyan and Linzy Attenborough
About our commissions
Two exciting projection commissions from our “Then, Now, Next” project strand have joined the Light & Dark Festival. These projects are using photographic based artwork and STEAM themes to address one or more of the following ideas: Sutton’s STEAM History, Science in Sutton, and Sutton of the Future.
Find Out What's On
Sutton STEAMs Ahead aims to uniquely blend the arts and sciences through S.T.E.A.M themes (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths). Find out about the events happening as part of Sutton STEAMs Ahead!