On Saturday, February 22, 2025, the last day of the Birmingham Light Festival, I went ‘light-hunting’ with my family, but we got more than the lights. We danced, played, learned new things, and were entertained.
Our first stop: the Centenary Square. Ears plugged with colourful headphones, listening to music, and jumping around during the Floor is Lava X Silent Disco experience (Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces Ltd: Birmingham). The colourful headset could be tuned to different channels with different songs, on different volumes. The host—dressed for the occasion in a dazzling red gown and a glittery light-up head warmer—kept the energy high, while Perry, the Birmingham mascot, busted some moves and posed for pictures.
My sons stopped at the Twist and Shine (Kaleider: Exeter), a vibrant installation designed for interaction, allowing participants to twist and reshape glowing structures. The concept was intriguing, but let’s just say, my kids weren’t the most patient sculptors. Within minutes, my younger one was lured away by the twinkling wonders of Mr Glow’s stand of light-up toys. Still at the Square, people played Night Badminton (Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces Ltd: Birmingham), but the queue was quite long as we had other s/lights to discover.
After that, we headed to St. Paul’s Square for ‘The Mycelium Network’ (Stevie Thompson, Custom Fibre Optics: UK), a recreation of the fungal systems that sustain plant life. When you look at this exhibition, you will think that it is springing from the roots of a nearby tree. Mimicking the root network of plants brought to light the unseen, making one wonder about the wonders of nature.
Next stop: the Colmore Row Square. There stood ‘The Flux’ (Collective Scale, Tetro +A, Région Grand Est, Festival Constellations de Metz: France), a mesmerising triumph of forms, as music, light and movement worked hand in hand. Imagine a ballet; the dancers are well-arranged fluorescent beams (or were they saber lights?) bending to light, swinging in rhythm to the soundtrack. When the rhythm was slow, the dancing light followed slowly. Here, too many cooks didn’t spoil the broth—they created a symphony of movement and colour.
Not too far away is the Alright Bab! (Brumbox/Taylex Group: Birmingham) installation, a homage to all Brummies. These are not just words carved out of neon lights; it is a greeting that calms nerves, making everything cool before they have a chance to get heated. Alright, Bab!
Peace is the dream of a shared/ human soul that we build/ Everyday with Forgiveness/ And kindness and hope. / A hundred years and the dream/ Never Ends/ All Our Tomorrows/ Are Fragile, The peace builders/ Are Heroes of Kindness.
– ‘Peace Poem’ (Emergency Exit Arts: London)
Created as a commemoration of 100 years after the end of WW1, the two-sided poem shone brightly in white dotted neon lights, lettering in caps at the Hippodrome Square. The words are an important reminder even today as ‘pockets of war’ continue to ravage our world. Around the poem hovered four beautiful butterflies, fluttering in the air, powered by human hands. It was exciting for my sons to ‘co-power’ one of these butterflies with the lady—I didn’t ask her name—who engaged them. These butterflies seem to remind us that while peace is beautiful, it is quite fragile, and it takes effort to keep it fluttering.
As we left the square, feet tired, my younger son limped from the walking, and my older son desperately pressed and in need of a toilet. We found our way to the New Street and found the Unreel Access (Kappa: London) there—a mysterious magical door that could lead you anywhere, in your mind. This work plays on the idea of doors as access to new worlds. And it was quite touché to situate it at the train station—portal to several worlds.
Looking back on Saturday, despite bouncing between Google Maps and the event website, my calculations were way off. As a non-driver, our only options were walking or catching the bus—both of which tested my sense of direction. And did my mental map of Birmingham fail me? Absolutely. So please, someone explain how I made it to the Hippodrome but completely missed the dazzling lights on Thorp Street? In my mind, Thorp Street was on the other side of the city. Never mind that I visit the Hippodrome almost every month—you’d think I had just landed in Birmingham for the first time!
As I took in the dazzling displays, one thought lingered—how much of this was from Birmingham? Beyond just happening in the city, and for the city, how much of it was of the city? Maybe experiences like this could spark more homegrown ideas, celebrating Brummie creativity in exciting ways. Imagine if the silent disco headsets had a ‘Brum Radio’ channel, playing tracks from local artists—now that would have been a vibe! Will the experience be different if they move beyond the City Centre? I know, I know, the city is broke. And I can imagine the work it took to bring all these together, but isn’t dreaming up possibilities integral to creativity?
Still, it was a night well spent. If nothing else, it pushed me to see Birmingham through a fresh lens, uncovering corners of the city I thought I knew. Of course, if I had to navigate it all over again, I’d probably still get lost… but then again, isn’t that part of the adventure?