Residents’ trip to see Lumiere in Durham
A group of 19 local resident’s visited Lumiere Festival in Durham with us over the weekend of 18 and 19 November.
The free trip explore the event festival or more than 40 artworks in Durham city and Bishop Auckland town, where we stayed overnight and explored Auckland Castle and Faith Museum on Sunday before heading home.
Hear from the residents who joined us, and see the images and videos they recorded for this inspiring weekend on what they learnt, loved and how this could influence potential future art events in Barking and Dagenham.
“With this being our first time experiencing the Lumiere Festival in Durham, it was wonderful to see such intricate pieces of art on display.
Not only were there interactive displays - with one of our favourites being in Bishop Auckland - Illumaphonium, as well as Pulse Topology located in Durham Cathedral; there were also inspirational lights.
The Lumiere Festival allowed us to look at art in its many forms and to imagine our own stories, as well as discussing our interpretations with others.
Art is a form that knows no boundaries and Lumiere showcased these beautifully.
Our time with Creative Barking and Dagenham over the weekend was awesome and we truly enjoyed making lots of new memories and experiencing the many wonders of Durham and Bishop Aukland.”
Natalie and Valerie, Dagenham.
Image (right) by Natalie.
“It opened my eyes to the beauty that light can bring to our lives. ”
Image: Andrea
“The cathedral - it was so impactful and there was something joyful and unifying about being among a huge group of (mainly) strangers sharing an experience.
The castle as we entered Durham - another projection but this time more fixed and, I presume, showing children's artwork (congratulations to the artist if this isn't the case!). I loved the vibrant here and can really visualise this idea transferring to our locality, using ideas and work from our young people. As important as it is to inspire people with important artwork, people need to feel empowered to make their marks alongside.
The Spanish Gallery at Bishop Auckland - it was visually stunning but quite a peaceful, personal experience. I found myself really enjoying looking at abstractions of paintings and focusing briefly on details, paintings I would honestly pass by in a gallery. The way the paintings seemed to melt in a Daliesque manner, or like an acrylic-pour, was mesmerising.
I could really imagine paintings held at Valence House being projected onto the building in a similar way. What a way to share the rich heritage that is by necessity hidden away with local residents.”
Andrea, Dagenham
“A wonderful cultural trip to Durham / Bishop Auckland. Mixing modern with history. The amazing Luminaire on Saturday and Bishop Auckland Castle and the beautiful Faith museum on Sunday. Fantastic 1st class trip. ”
Images: L to R: Natalie, Jane, Andrea.
Drone image of Auckland Castle: Kirk Rutter.
Images below from: Jane, Natalie, Danny, Kev and Clare.
“I have never had so much fun. The whole experience was fantastic, the rest of the people in the group were lovely, friendly folk.”
