The Light set to illuminate this autumn

A newly opened cultural venue is building on a strong first month with an autumn and winter programme spanning live music, creative workshops, talks and late-night events.

The Light, Durham County Council’s new venue at Aykley Heads, welcomed more than 5000 visitors during its opening week last month and is now looking to establish a regular programme of cultural and community events.

Inspired by its inaugural exhibitions, We Are The Durhams: The Durham Light Infantry Exhibition and Victory Over the Sun: Encounters with Light, the programme will explore art, history and creativity through activities for adults and families.

A major focus will be Thursday evenings, with recurring events designed to make The Light a regular fixture in the region’s cultural calendar.

They include:

• The Salon – The North East’s Creative Social: A monthly networking event bringing together artists, musicians, performers, writers, designers, filmmakers, producers and makers. Curated by Create North in partnership with The Light, it takes place on the first Thursday of each month from October 1. 
• Making History: Talks, screenings, tours and discussions examining how history and heritage are interpreted through literature, film, television, photography, public art, music and popular culture. It runs on the second Thursday of the month.
• I Don’t Want to Grow Up: Artist-led creative workshops encouraging adults to experiment with different forms of making, held on the third Thursday of each month.
• The Light Lounge: Live music, drinks and conversation, with the venue’s café transformed into an evening social space on the third and fourth Thursdays.
• Tomorrow’s Library: A book club exploring novels, speculative fiction, science, philosophy and cultural criticism that have influenced ideas about the future. It launches on October 22 and will run on the fourth Thursday of the month.

The programme will also include After Dark, a series of late-night events on the first Friday of each month combining exhibitions with live performances, music, installations, food and drink.

Each event will be co-curated by an artist or creative collaborator, with the first three involving contributors to Victory Over the Sun. 

Tine Bech will lead the October 2 event, followed by Liz West on November 6 and Neon Workshops on December 4.

Families will also be catered for through a week of creative workshops during October half-term, alongside Sensory Saturdays featuring artist-led activities and sensory play for younger children.

The programme complements The Light’s two opening exhibitions.

Running until January 17, Victory Over the Sun: Encounters with Light brings together work by artists including Tracey Emin, Dan Flavin, Olafur Eliasson and Chila Burman, examining the use of light as both an artistic subject and material.

Meanwhile, permanent exhibition We Are The Durhams draws on the venue’s military heritage to explore identity, belonging and community through objects, images, sound and interactive activities.

Councillor Karen Allison, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for leisure, tourism, regeneration and high street, said: “The autumn/winter programme reflects our ambition to create opportunities for people of all ages to connect with culture in meaningful ways. 

“We want The Light to become a part of people’s everyday lives – whether that be as a place to view amazing exhibitions and explore new creative pursuits or as somewhere to catch up with friends. 

“We’re delighted the venue has already welcomed thousands of visitors. 

“County Durham’s visitor economy is worth more than £1.5 billion a year and The Light is helping to boost this further, while raising our profile as a vibrant county to live, work, visit and invest.”

Entry to The Light and We Are The Durhams is free. To book tickets for Victory Over The Sun and autumn/winter events, visit www.thelightdurham.org.uk.

To stay up to date with the latest news and events, follow @thelightdurham on Facebook and Instagram.

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