Bristol Light Festival has announced the first three artworks that will appear at the 2025 event – including a world premiere installation. The iconic Bristol festival is set to return to the city for 10 days at the beginning of next year.
Organisers have promised visitors an array of dazzling light-based artworks to brighten up the darkest nights of January and February. Now, the first three artworks have been announced, with a whimsical world premiere of robotic creation, The Whilers. It will also see the return of Illumaphonium, following a dazzling double offering in 2023 with Continuum and Halo, and a spectacular flock of pink flamingos as part of Ramandu’s Table.
The award-winning festival, which has recently been shortlisted in the Tourism Event/Festival of the Year category in the Bristol Bath and Somerset Tourism Awards, will be lighting up Bristol from Friday, January 31 and Sunday, February 9. It will be the fifth time that the Light Festival transforms the streets of Bristol into a light show – the first one happened just before the Covid pandemic in 2020 and there have been three more since.
The 2024 edition of the festival saw 275,000 visitors head into the centre to enjoy the artworks and brought a huge £8.7m of additional revenue to the area. And organisers have given a sneak preview of the kind of thing in store for the expected quarter of a million visitors for next year’s event.
The Whilers by Air Giants – World premiere
Experts in interactive soft robotics, Air Giants will be wowing crowds at the event with their pneumatically-controlled robotic creations. The Whilers are otherworldly creatures on a journey into the unknown who are stopping only briefly in Bristol to interact with its residents and each other.
Air Giants’ Bristol-based team come from diverse backgrounds with broad experience in theatre design, software development and access and inclusion, and their work is centred around connection and companionship. Using cutting-edge robotics research, The Whilers use non-verbal sounds and language to communicate with one another, and to take notice of audience members for an immersive and awe-inspiring experience.
Emma Powell of Air Giants, said: “It’s a real pleasure to present the world premiere of The Whilers at Bristol Light Festival. Bristol is a city of such community and connection, and that is exactly what we want to capture with these creatures. Although they are just passing by, their ability to connect with audiences due to their sensors detecting human movement will make their stay an impactful and memorable experience. Visiting The Whilers is a chance for people to stop, pause and enjoy some time with ethereal robots the likes of which we doubt they have ever seen before.”
Ramandu’s Table by Bruce Munro
Taking inspiration from the original plastic pink flamingo creator, Don Featherstone, and from CS Lewis’ literature, Ramandu’s Table will showcase nature in a whole new light. The installation, a flock of white flamingos, illuminated with an array of continually changing dawn hues, brings a new layer of artistry to the traditional flamingo statue associated with front yards in America.
The artist wants audiences to enjoy the piece for exactly what it is, a vibrant depiction of some of nature’s most flamboyant and gregarious creatures.
Bruce Munro, artist, said: It’s a pleasure to participate in Bristol Light Festival for 2025. I have many warm memories of my time at the faculty of Art and Design, Bristol Polytechnic where I completed a Fine Arts degree in 1982 and just scraped through with a third-class honours! I never thought I would be lucky enough to make a living as an artist, so it feels like a full-circle moment to come back and show this piece of work here! Many of my works, including this one, were inspired by books that I have read. In this instance Ramandu’s Table is a bit of fun on a number of levels, the main one being it is a tongue in cheek interpretation of a chapter in CS Lewis ” Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”
Somnius by Illumaphonium
For their second visit to Bristol Light Festival Illumaphonium is returning once more to combine light and sound with their latest work, Somnius. Somnius is a cosmic blend of light and sound that responds to every movement of the audience. As participation in the installation grows, so does its soundscape and reactive illuminations, immersing crowds in a playful environment that puts them in control of their experience. Its appearance at Bristol Light Festival will be the installation’s South West debut.
Gemma Mills of Illumaphonium, said: “Bristol feels like a second home to us, so it’s really special to bring the work to one of our favourite UK cities. We know the people of Bristol love to come together and participate and that’s a really important part of this piece; the more people engage with the installation, the more of an experience it is. This is our most ambitious project to date, combining a quarter of a million light pixels and 970 sound bars, all of which have been soldered by hand. The spatial and synthy sound design combined with the use of light will create an environment that allows people to escape into another dimension.”
What the organisers have to say
Katherine Jewkes, creative director of Bristol Light Festival, said: “We’re thrilled to be announcing the first three installations heading to Bristol for the festival’s 2025 edition. Air Giants, Illumaphonium and Bruce Munro all have strong connections to Bristol and celebrate the broad and varied talent which is nurtured in the south west and celebrated around the globe.
“We can’t wait to see visitors creating illuminating soundscapes with Somnius, frolicking among the flamingos with Ramandu’s Table and keeping magical creatures company along their journey with The Whilers! It’s always an honour to showcase such incredible talent, and this year is certainly no exception.”
Vicky Lee, director of Bristol City Centre BID, said: “After the huge economic boost that 2024’s edition brought to the city, Bristol Light Festival is back to showcase our creative industries and give more people a reason to head into the city centre at a traditionally quieter time of year. This next iteration will once again shine a spotlight not only on the many talented artists but also on the city and the many brilliant experiences Bristol has to offer for people to enjoy as part of their visit to the festival.”
Steve Bluff, head of Redcliffe & Temple BID, said: “Being a partner of the Bristol Light Festival is something we love, as we’re always looking for ways to welcome new visitors to different parts of the city. This year’s incredible installations offer up more reasons for people to come and explore Bristol while seeing some world-class artistry transforming some of our most iconic venues and outdoor spaces.”
Bristol Live What’s On WhatsApp
Join Bristol Live’s WhatsApp community for What’s On news sent directly to your phone
Bristol Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community. Through the app, we’ll share the top stories about Bristol events, restaurants, family attractions, nightlife and much more straight to your phone, so you can stay updated with things to do and places to go.
To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.
We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.
To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.