Opportunity
Are you an early career projection artist? Light Up Lancaster 2025 invites projection artists who are in the early stages of their careers, or developing their practice, to submit proposals for a unique projection piece revealing the impact of glacial movement on rising sea levels. This is an opportunity we hope will appeal to people who have previously participated in LightLab, SPARK, or DigiLab, for example, offering a platform to showcase your artistry at one of the UK’s leading light festivals.
The Opportunity
We are searching for a projection artist (or collective) to create an original artwork for Light Up Lancaster 2025 (Nov 6-8). The chosen artist will receive mentoring, support and resources to develop and realise a site-specific piece in a prominent location that will captivate festival audiences.
• There is a fee of £1,500 for delivering the creative commission.
• All technical hires and personnel will be provided by the festival
• Accommodation costs, if required, will be considered.
Eligibility Criteria
- You must be an emerging or developing artist working in projection / video mapping.
- This opportunity is open to both individuals and collaborative teams.
- You should be available for Light Up Lancaster (Nov 6-8) and the install date, Nov 5.
- Open to UK-based artists only
The Artistic Challenge
The selected artist will work closely with the university’s Diego Moral Pombo and his team at the Lancaster Environment Centre at Lancaster University.
The work will be inspired by cutting-edge research from Lancaster University into the hidden lakes beneath Greenland’s vast ice sheet. Glaciers may seem enduring and unchanging, but these under-ice water systems play a key role in accelerating glacial movement, iceberg calving, and eventually rising sea levels. This challenges the public’s idea that glaciers are permanent and static, showing that Earth’s ice is constantly in motion, and far more ephemeral than it seems.
Content, information, background and imagery will be available from working in collaboration with Diego Moral Pombo, senior research associate in ice-sheet geodesy and his team at the Lancaster Environment Centre at Lancaster University.
It is a collaborative opportunity to reveal – using projection, light and imagination – the impact of these subglacial lakes. The location for the projection work is around the historic Lancaster Castle Gateway, a great platform to highlight an artist’s work. The entrance to the Castle is also a pivotal location for Light Up Lancaster’s audience which, in 2024, was more than 91,000 across the three nights of the festival.
Technical support and projection equipment will be supplied by the festival production team and creative mentoring with be available from Simon Wainwright, creative director of imitating the dog
Creative Guidelines
- We welcome experimental techniques and multimedia integration, provided light is central to the work.
- The proposed piece should draw clear inspiration from the theme of subglacial lakes and the unseen worlds beneath Greenland’s ice.
- Collaboration with the university researchers is fundamental to the opportunity.
How to Apply
- Prepare a brief – no more than one side of A4 – proposal outlining your concept, approach, and any relevant experience.
- You may include visual sketches or references, a short artist bio, and links to prior work if available.
- Submit your application by the deadline of 5pm, Friday, August 15.
- Applications will be assessed on the quality and originality of the idea, how it will visually represent the university research and ability to work with LUL and academics to create the artwork within the budget, taking into consideration the technical requirements, installation and material costs.
- Shortlisting will take place w/c August 18, with interviews scheduled for Tuesday, August 26.
The Benefits
- Share your vision with thousands of festival attendees and the wider Lancaster arts community.
- Collaborate with leading researchers and festival organisers to bring innovative ideas to life.
- Grow your professional network and gain valuable exposure at a major UK light festival.
Contact
Please send your proposal to George Harris, creative producer at Light Up Lancaster by Friday, August 15 georgeproduces@gmail.com
