Bright Nights

Gloucester City Council are pleased to announce the first events for the winter Bright Nights programme for the city, taking place from November 2021 until February 2022. These light installations will bring colour, light and joy to the city as the nights get longer over winter.

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Highlights of the first half of the programme include:

Scintillating Birch Forest

until July 2022

at Gloucester Guildhall (23 Eastgate St, Gloucester GL1 1NS)

Scintillating Birch Forest was created by Stroud based artist, Jack Wimperis. Jack is passionate about the importance of trees, not only for the environment but also for health and wellbeing. He combines the forest with a beautiful light display, as he knows how much light reflects our mood and is so important for our mental health.

This artwork invokes emotions and invites the visitor to take some time out of their busy lives, forget about the world, and take some time out for themselves by taking them to a different place through this meditative and thought invoking illumination.

The Birch Forest is on display at Gloucester Guildhall, and was created as part of LandMark – the new Sky Arts programme featuring artists from across the country creating a sculpture in a competition. The winning artists creates a larger scale installation to be displayed in Coventry later this year.

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Shadowing

29 October to 31 December

on Berkely Street, the corner of Southgate St / St Mary de Crypt, and outside Blackfriars

Bright Nights has invited award-winning digital artists Chomko & Rosier to turn three ordinary lampposts in the centre of Gloucester into magical illuminated stages where everybody can dance and play with their shadows. Shadowing gives memory to city lights, enabling them to record and play back the shadows of those who passed underneath.

From 29 October, Shadowing will be available to play with on Berkley Street, Southgate Street / St Mary De Crypt corner and outside Blackfriars Priory when the street lights turn on after dark.

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Breathing Room

6 November to 14 November

at Blackfriars Priory (Ladybellegate St, Gloucester GL1 2HN)

Breathing Room by artist Anna Berry is a walk-in kinetic light installation that perfectly combines organic and machine elements, creating a unique sensory experience. Powered by an outer mechanical skeleton, Breathing Room invites you into a gently illuminated tunnel lined with 28,000 cones that ‘breathe’ like a living organism.

Breathing Room will be available for visitors to experience at Blackfriars from 6-14 November 2021. Booking is not required. However, we have allocated a number of bookable places for those who would like a more relaxed or personal experience, and you can book those tickets here. Please note that, on Thursday 11 November, Breathing Room is fully booked between 5:30 and 6:30pm.

Anna Berry is an artist whose work is frequently shown in non-gallery environments. Anna works in a great variety of media, but especially with paper because of its fragile and ephemeral nature. Breathing Room is supported by Unlimited, an arts commissioning programme that enables new work by disabled artists to reach UK and international audiences.

For accessibility information, please click here.

You can also book a special Bright Nights VR experience on 7 November 2021, and get the chance to experience Breathing Room, Anna Berry's immersive installation, in virtual reality. Tickets can be booked here.

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Lumino

11 November to 14 November

at Llanthony Secunda Priory (Priory Junction, Gloucester GL2 5FA)

South-West based artist, Ulf Pedersen is designing a new commission for Llanthony Secunda Priory, which will take audiences on an immersive light-filled journey through a historic site, offering audiences an escape from the busy surrounding city.

The 3 main buildings (Brick Range, Medieval Range & Tythe Barn) will be illuminated by Ulf with colour, text and light, designed to highlight the architectural charm of the buildings, the history of the site, and the different techniques and materials blended into the walls.

Lumino is a Llanthropology project commission by Llanthony Secunda Priory, and funded by Historic England and partners.

Tickets can be booked here.

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Lantern Procession & Christmas Lights Switch On

21 November

Procession route Southgate St, Westgate St, Berkeley Street, Longsmith St, Ladybellegate St, Blackfriars

Ring in the festive cheer as Gloucester’s stunning Lantern Procession & Christmas Light Switch-On returns this year on Sunday 21 November at 4.45pm as part of the Bright Nights programme.

Local artists and schoolchildren are working on a series of magical lanterns based on the theme “Loving Our Planet (Guardians of Nature)”, highlighting the importance of sustainability and doing our bit to slow climate change. As part of this year’s procession, you can expect to see foragers, pollinators, gardeners and much more, all lead by Father Christmas himself with the city's Christmas lights turning on as it passes underneath.

Procession route Southgate St, Westgate St, Berkeley Street, Longsmith St, Ladybellegate St, Blackfriars.

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Globoscope

26 November to 28 November

at Robinswood Hill (Reservoir Rd, Gloucester GL4 6SX)

Created by Coin Collectif, Globoscope is an immersive installation made up of 200 luminous spheres that will transform the landscape of Robinswood Hill into a multi-sensory, changing terrain, inviting audiences to see a familiar landscape in a new way. Globoscope will be available from dusk on the 26-28 November at Robinswood Hill.

Tickets can be booked here.

Globoscope is presented by Strike a Light in partnership with Bright Nights, and kindly supported by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.   

Coming to Globoscope?

We can’t wait to welcome you. It's going to be a wonderful event. To ensure we all have the best time, here is some information about the event:

• We are delighted that the event has been so popular, and it will be great to see so many of you on the hill. However, if you can no longer make the event, please let us know so that we can release your tickets. To do this, please email city.events@gloucester.gov.uk

• Travelling to the event - Please consider walking or public transport where possible as there is limited parking. If you have to travel by car, there are two car parks to use: Robinswood Hill has a small one and we are also able to use the One Church car park (directions here).

• If you are walking from the One Church car park, keep an eye out for Bright Nights signs along the route which will show you the right way to Globoscope.

• The hill will be illuminated by glowing orbs, but the pathways are not lit so please bring a torch. 

• We will have our popular fire pits to keep you warm and the café will be open for warm drinks and snacks. You are welcome to toast marshmallows on our firepits but please be extra careful! Little mits and fire don’t mix so please be take care when using them with children.

• We would love for you to share your photos on social media using the hashtag #brightnightsglos.

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Window Trails (Advent Fenster)

1 December to 31 December

As part of the winter months, communities across Gloucester are creating window trails and advent fensters to brighten up their streets.

We are pulling together information on all the trails organised across the City, so you can plan your visits and see the amazing creativity from residents and businesses in Gloucester.

Interested in getting involved? Put a call out to your neighbours and create your own trail on your street, then send us the details and we will add you to our lovely map.

Already organising a window trail in Gloucester? Let us know, we would love to help promote it!

Get in touch city.events@gloucester.gov.uk  

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Did you visit one of the Bright Nights events? Please let us know what you think.

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Bright Nights is produced by Gloucester City Council and has been made possible with funding from Arts Council England, Gloucester BID, Unlimited and FESTIVAL.ORG, with partnership support from Llanthony Secunda Priory, Blackfriars Priory, Strike A Light, Historic England, Gloucester Guildhall, Gloucester Cathedral, Your Next Move and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. The concept for the project was originated by Gloucester Culture Trust who supported the project in its early stages of development in bringing all partners together to ensure its success.

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_{Travel Information}

For information on how to get to the events click here.

You can find a full list of car parks here.

Book your train travel to Gloucester this autumn at GWR.com

Great Western Railway (GWR) runs long-distance and regional train services direct to Gloucester station from London Paddington, Reading, Bristol and Worcester, and you can save over 50% on train travel when you book in advance at GWR.com!