This year's Light up Lancaster was one of the best yet. Many of our collective members got involved, working hard to make some fantastic projects come to life. Here is some of what happened in Light up Lancaster 2024.
Planet Promises
After last year's successful collaboration with Good Things Collective CIC, Closing Loops and Food Futures at Light Up Lancaster, we were embellishing banners on the continuing theme of ‘Planet Promises’ highlighting the far reaching environmental impact of our consumerist choices.
The family friendly workshop encourages creative play, offering a platform to express these themes through using stencils, textiles, UV reactive paint and reused and reclaimed materials, renewing the informal discussion around waste generated consumerism.
We also used decorative techniques and reclaimed materials in creating some UV reactive up-cycled pieces that were part of a Pop Up UV Shop called ‘Use What You Have’ displayed in our gazebo over Light Up Lancaster Weekend.
The overall premise of this pop up shop was highlighting the need to make ethical, sustainable, low environmental impact choices, by being creative in a ‘use what you have’ mixed media approach to the re-use, reclaim, re-cycle attitude.
This is to provoke a discussion around what you buy, where you buy, its long term environmental cost and subsequent impact. Turning consumerism into thoughtful, considered sensible choices, giving the consumer ownership. The supermarket was an immersive experience. The UV inside the gazebo being overwhelming as a sensory experience, further illustrating the impact of advertising in a shop setting.
"This year I wanted to create a fun way new way of literally 'highlighting' the far reaching environmental impact of our consumerist choices! A pop up 'Use What You Have' UV Supermarket!
During the recent Light Up Lancaster's Explore Week at The Storey, and in collaboration with Rachel from Food Futures, we renewed this informal discussion around waste generated consumerism during a day of family friendly workshops.
Fun times were had by all ages, encouraging intergenerational activities and a bit of messy play, which looks particularly good under the UV Light! The idea was to offer a platform to express themes like 'make do and mend, using what you have, reusing, reclaiming and recycling using stencils, textiles, UV reactive paint and reused and reclaimed materials. This was the result!" - Rosie Tacon Glass
Lighthouse Lessons
The Lessons from the Lighthouse project has evolved from a meandering process, where things emerged and links were formed from various ideas, possibilities, people, places and skills!
Here’s a list of how this process went…
Jill Anderson, collective member and researcher at Madzines.org, explored with colleagues how - through zines - experiences of madness and distress can be better understood - as part of ‘being human’.
‘Being Human’ : the National ‘Festival of the Humanities’ was looking for academics and community partners keen to share their research with the public and Madzines.org was keen to be involved.
This year's ‘Being Human Festival' had the theme of 'landmarks', coincided with the Light Up Lancaster Festival and Sarah Hymas, zine maker, writer & poet happens to live in a lighthouse keeper’s cottage opposite the local landmark: Plover Scar.
We took a walk there to understand what a lighthouse might have to teach us about being human, then made zines back at Good Things Studios. Sarah’s blog ‘Together’
Good Things Studios is home to Morecambe Riso Press run by illustrator Charlotte Done, and the Morecambe & Lancaster Zine Library (developed by Charlotte & Jill). It is also where Revamp Racoon resides, run by Wendy, creator of sewn revamped garments and maker of giant & theatrical costumes, and so they plotted together to make a Wandering Plover Scar.
Light up Lancaster embraces community involvement and welcomed a wandering lighthouse! They also wanted people to run workshops at the Storey Institute for their ‘Explore Week’, especially with things that produce light!!
So with all that human input, the lighthouse at Plover Scar came to Lancaster. Its first outing during Explore Week, where we asked the half term kids, parents and other adults to help the lighthouse understand what it’s like, 'Being Human'. People were invited to make a zine and hand it to the lighthouse.
The lighthouse then dispensed these glorious illuminations to passers by during Light up Lancaster on Friday night along with an open invitation to join us for the MadZines ~ Zine Library Takeover on Saturday.
The Morecambe & Lancaster Zine Library then hosted a ‘takeover’ by the Madzines research team at the Gregson, who hosts one half of the M&L Zine Library and was a welcoming space for a ‘Being Human Festival’ happening. On Saturday 9 November the lighthouse headed to the Gregson Centre to join the Mad Zines team.
Hel, Jill and Tamsin have, for the past four years, been tracking down, sharing and exploring what they refer to as MadZines. Madzines - like the lighthouse - are sources of illuminations about being human and, in particular, can challenge and unsettle mainstream understandings about mental health. They have lessons for individuals, mental health professionals and services and our community as a whole. Come and find out what the Madzines team have learned, read some Madzines, find out how to make one and help to launch the Madzines takeover of the zine library.
The Lighthouse and its team were there; talking about zines, Madzines, costume making, Plover Scar Lighthouse, and the symbolic potency of lighthouses. The Lighthouse was in conversation with the Madzines team, reflecting on the illuminations it was given, and together tried to untangle all the messages of warning and comfort.
The Morecambe & Lancaster Zine Library, which lives in the Gregson bar area, will hold the Madzine collections for everyone to peruse, and to add to, until the end of December.
This project is in collaboration with Morecambe Riso Press, Madzines.org, Skear Zines, The Zine Library, Revamp Racoon. With special thanks to Good Things Collective, The Gregson and Light up Lancaster.
Comments