Where There Is Light tour (2021)

Explore what it means to find light in a new immersive sound and light installation funded by the Arts Council England.

Where There Is Light Freedom Festival Hull Photo credit My Pocket

Where There Is Light is an immersive sound and light installation sharing the voices and stories of sanctuary seeking communities from across the country. It asks questions about where we find light in our lives, in ourselves, in others and in the world around us.

With the pandemic continuing to impact our daily lives we hope to start to rebuild, reconnect and transform how communities connect in a time of isolation and loneliness. Where There Is Light offers a moment for reflection, a break in people’s day to day lives, a space to look outside of themselves, to come together and share a sense of connection and hope.

The soundscape was made collaboratively and remotely across borders in Leicester, Hull, Coventry and Portsmouth. Led by the arts collective Squidsoup and ArtReach, together with artist Sameena Khan, Audio Producer Dimple Patel, Lee Chaos for The Music Works and Composer Julian Gregory Bayliss ; with funding from Arts Council England, and partnerships with Freedom Festival, Coventry City of Culture, Halton Borough of Culture, Journeys Festival International and Timber Festival, this artwork provides a truly poignant sensory experience exploring themes of light.

Outreach sessions took place in Leicester, Coventry, Hull and Portsmouth connecting with local artists in each city to deliver creative activities with participants. Artists Alex Plasatis, Lauta Nyahuye, Peter Snelling and Maria Tarn led workshops exploring the theme of light, opening up discussion and reflection through creativity. The project was supported by Maokwo, Welcome to English, British Red Cross and Stop Domestic Abuse.

Hull based artist Peter Snelling shared that “working on the ‘Where There Is Light’ project was a brilliant experience…There was lots of laughter and fun. But also the participants used the questions about light to draw and make music and zines that meant something. People talked about family, about inner strength and about love. I learnt about my own relationship with light and what it means to me. The same things that light up my life also light up the lives of people who, on the surface, seem quite different to me.”

Claire Ward, Producer from ArtReach, comments that ‘ArtReach is thrilled to be part of such an uplifting and moving project. Partnerships with organisations across the country have allowed the project to reach often overlooked communities and bring people together for moments of connection in a time in which we’ve all been separated. ‘Where There Is Light’ is an ambitious installation that shares the voices of these communities in an accessible and celebratory way, and we can’t wait to share it with audiences’ up and down the country.’

You can read more about the workshops and the development of the soundscape for Where There Is Light here and here get an insight into the brilliant work of the participants at the Freedom Festival in Hull.

The Where There Is Light national tour was developed from a one-off work developed with GARAS (Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers) and shown at Gloucester Cathedral. More details HERE.

Credits
Executive Producer for ArtReach – Maddie Smart
Producer for ArtReach – Claire Ward
Artist – Sameena Khan
Audio Producer – Dimple Patel
Composition – Julian Gregory Bayliss
Sound design – Lee Chaos for The Music Works

Voices / Participants
Kurdoya, Faisal Jumah, Cloud Chunga, Benehilda Ngoshi, Hadi Manesh, Talhatou Diallo, Nathaniel AMOUSSOU, Romeo, Khalid, Somayeh, Alizadeh, Aboubaker, Rashidi, Marya, Jack, Reza, Sara Hashemi

Touring partners
Journeys Festival International, Hull, Freedom Festival, Coventry City of Culture, Halton Borough of Council and Timber Festival

Outreach Partners
Journeys Festival International, Hull Freedom Festival, Coventry City of Culture