Virtual Cities

Students at the University of Kent’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning will each be creating a light installation using the façade of Gravesend’s Library.  Over this year, students have been developing an understanding of the different ways light can play with architecture, and each of them will create a piece that either has a passive relationship with the building using it as a canvas for their work, or it will activate the façade bringing it alive.

Inspired by a field trip to witness the Fête des Lumières in Lyon in December, each student has been given free license to interpret the festival’s theme of Reflection in their own unique way.  With each piece lasting around 3 minutes, the overall programme will last around 40 minutes, giving time for audiences to see their favourite pieces again.

About the artist/s: In previous years, students have taken part in the light festivals across Kent, including the Medway Light Nights, Cheriton Light Festival, and the Canterbury Light Trail. These students are working in collaboration with Howard Griffin, who is also bringing Legacy to the Light Festival. 

Howard Griffin has projected his work at various light festivals, including the Medway Light Nights, Cheriton Light Festival, and the Canterbury Light Trail.  He is currently completing a PhD thesis on the transformative effects that projection mapping can have on architecture.  His research work culminated in an installation called Electric Chatham at the Medway Light Nights in 2023.  The piece, using the former National Electric Theatre (latterly Poundworld), highlighted an urgent need to protect the heritage in the High Street.