Residents’ visit to see Elysian Arcs installation
Yesterday (13 March) a group of Creative Barking and Dagenham residents joined us for an inspiring visit to the mesmerizing Elysian Arcs art installation at the iconic Leadenhall Building (aka The Cheese grater) in The City of London.
After wandering through the huge arcs and bubbles, our group of residents met and talked with Bradley Hemmings MBE who produced the work and is the founder of Festival.org.
We spoke about the intricate details and artistic vision behind Elysian Arcs, the mesmerising audio soundscape that accompanies the inflated, colour-changing work and why the incredible installation is based at the bottom of the skyscraper.
Joan, who lives in the borough, described the visit;
“The visit to the Elysian Arcs was an exciting and enchanting experience.
The constantly changing colours were magical and a joy to see and to capture as pictures.
The arcs encouraged you to enter into the artwork and become part of it and the bubbles provided complementary shapes.
The background music was soothing and very effective as it made you feel relaxed yet focused on what was happening with the colours.
It felt a happy place to be and a haven amidst all the darkness and hustle and bustle of city life.
It was great to see people of all ages and cultures enjoying being there.
Thank you for organising this visit and for providing the opportunity to spend time with Bradley Hemmings MBE.”
The evening visit saw conversations flow freely, with residents sharing their thoughts and interpretations of Elysian Arcs and ideas for how this could inspire work to take place in the borough in the future.
We were joined on the visit by Jimmy Lee, local photographer who documented the visit and took some beautiful portraits of our residents within the installation.
Our visit this month is the latest in our trips to explore, and be inspired by, light-art, installations and the see how culture can be used to invigorate communities.
Read about our previous trips: Durham and Lumiere Festival and Winter Lights at Canary Wharf.
