River of Light: a celebration of the rivers of the world through public art
Date uploaded: March 13, 2013
This summer the Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada will become the stage for a light installation that will transform the city's waterway into a River of Light.
Commissioned by the Central Alberta Historical Society for the Red Deer City Centennial, the River of Light will be the 3rd in a series of growing evolving installations created by UK based artistic studio, Creatmosphere that not only celebrate the importance of the river to the Red Deer community but also celebrate the rivers of the world through public art.
Developed originally as a community engagement project for a section of the Thames in London in 2008, the River of Light received critical acclaim in 2010, after 10,000 people witnessed a procession of glowing light spheres travelling down the Bow River in Calgary Canada. Returning to Canada on 30th June 2013 for a unique one off event in Red Deer, this evolution of the River of Light will be bigger and more far-reaching than ever. As Creatmosphere’s Creative Director Laurent Louyer states: “When the River of Light was recognised as one of the top 50 outstanding art projects by the Public Art Network in 2010, we realised both the local the global impact of the project. It shone a light on issues surrounding river conversation and water preservation, campaigns that are simultaneously locally and globally significant. It is this message which will be at the heart of the River of Light in Red Deer.”
With the aim of creating a global campaign to support the development of the River of Light and the message it communicates, Creatmosphere have been working with students from the local community college, Red Deer College, to develop a sculptural, structural, floating light object from the functional object, the rain barrel. This ‘light barrel’ will illuminate the issues surrounding water preservation, by becoming the basis for a crowdfunding campaign.
Launched on the 27th February 2013, on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, the light barrel campaign will encourage people from all over the world to donate to the creation of the light barrels, which will become part of the River of Light and will then be given to the community as a gift and as a commitment to sustainable water preservation.
The River of Light is an opportunity for everyone, whether in Red Deer, Canada or from anywhere in the world to celebrate the worlds rivers.
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