Due to popular demand Portsmouth Creates We Shine event returns this Thursday 17th November to Saturday 19th November 2022, where visitors can see local and national artists light up the city for 3 nights of FREE art and light installations.Opening on Thursday 17th November, visitors are encouraged to wrap up warm and witness the streets and buildings of Portsmouth transform into a night time gallery as they are illuminated with art across the city.
St Marys Church in Fratton will once again be a vibrant hub of activity with Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon acting as a captivating centre piece with the impressive seven metre-wide floating moon lighting up the church and enchanting audiences with its detailed 120dpi NASA imagery. No booking required! The church yard will also host We Rise, a unique work of art celebrating learning-disabled people and artists across Portsmouth city! Over a series of digital art workshops with local learning-disabled artists and acclaimed digital artist, Jason Wilsher-Mills they will have co-created a giant, colourful inflatable sculpture which loudly celebrates the power and talents of people with learning disabilities and draws inspiration from Portsmouth’s historic coat of arms, features the landmarks of the city, as well as drawings, self-portraits and words by project participants.
In addition, popular Fratton lantern parade is back on the Friday of We Shine for a magical evening of beautiful lanterns and inspiring drumming from Batala Samba Band in the heart of Fratton with a prompt 6PM start from Victory Business Centre. If you’d like to join in the parade you can make a lantern at home and bring it with you. Please note, all lanterns must be lit by battery powered lights only.
Growing each year, this time visitors will be treated to two new zones – Hilsea and Paulsgrove as part of Portsmouth Creates efforts to bring art to all corners of the city. Witness the Paulsgrove cliffs lit up with series of interactive dance performances – get involved and see yourself projected onto the cliffs. Alexandra Park in Hilsea will also be a new destination as part of the event. Magical and illuminated interactive projection Rewild by Limbic Cinema invites people to become part of the artwork. Come along and trigger cascades of butterflies and insects alongside an evolving natural scene. Collaborating with a local poet, Limbic Cinema has created an experience which promotes positive human action and a more harmonious relationship between us and nature. Sparking conversations about how we can restore and rebalance our natural ecosystems.
Due to popular demand, visitors will once again be given the rare opportunity to visit Victoria Park after-dark and be enchanted by a series of illuminated artpieces including Unfurl, combining; nature, art and technology, fairy garden, bug lanterns and curious creatures giving the park a magical atmosphere. To add to this there will be We Create Market’s Christmas edition which is open for extra hours, large-scale light installations, dance performances, and much more to see as visitors stroll across the city.
The team behind Victorious Festival have been on hand helping to support the not for profit event, sharing their industry knowledge and time for free with Portsmouth Creates. Offering their skills during down time with everything from marketing to event weekend delivery. Victorious Festival said:”Sharing a passion for events that help support and develop local creatives we are thrilled to have been able to provide funding to We Shine to encourage more awesome cultural events in our city! In addition, the team are enjoying keeping busy and volunteering their time to work on We Shine in the Winter months!”
Billie from Portsmouth Creates, the arts group behind We Shine and the popular We Create Market said; “We’ve been busy working hard with the Victorious team to deliver what is going to be something special this Winter for our second year of We Shine! We can’t wait to showcase a really diverse range of installations across even more of the city which offers something for everyone. Wrap up warm and join us for this free event, it’s going to be magical!”
See below the maps and suggestions for the 3 hubs and zones of how to see everything across the whole island over the 3 days! Split in to North Hub, Central Hub and Fratton Hub allows for a chance to focus on one hub per evening! Maybe you want to just take a stroll and just take in one part, or maybe you want to get to see everything, whichever you decide, enjoy and bring the whole family along. See below for hub maps to follow.
