DN Festival of
Light 2021
25th-28th November 2021
DONCASTER MINSTER
The Crossing Place created by Heinrich and Palmer
We were so pleased to welcome back the community of Doncaster back to Doncaster Minster for the DN Festival of Light in November. This time, we featured artwork by Heinrich & Palmer, ‘The Crossing Place’. The artwork was inspired by Doncaster’s rich heritage collection and the town’s long-standing association with Natural history.
Danum Gallery, Library and Museum
‘The Crossing Place’ exhibition by Heinrich and Palmer was available to visit after the festival. It was a scaled down version of the installation in the Minster. You can walk through the exhibit here.
The Community Launch
To open our DN Festival of Light, we started with a Community Launch to celebrate the artwork and what the community has achieved during lockdown.
The event was presented by Doncaster Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Damien Allen and featured poetry readings from the fantastic Read 2 Write Ground (Mexbrough and Balby). The poets read from the poetry anthology ‘An Inside View From a Locked-Down Land’ which was a collaborative piece of work with Care Homes Across Doncaster.
Hayley Youell and Leigh Baker then led a performance of ‘All Kinds (Loves Courageous)’ with the South Yorkshire Police Band, Doncaster Choral Society and the Swag and Swaglets Choir (darts). The score was composed by Hayley Youell and is the soundtrack to the ‘Depictions of DN’ film by James Lockey. The film was projected as we had a live performance of the composition.
Following this Leon Palmer introduced ‘The Crossing Place’ and it was revealed to our audience, to later be opened up to the public. A big thank you to everyone who made our Community Launch so special.
The Community Launch
Photography by James Mulkeen
‘The Crossing Place’ by Heinrich and Palmer
Photography by James Mulkeen
Outdoor Activities
On Thursday night we had a fabulous tipi in the grounds, which meant we could provide craft activities which were run by Karen Hall and puppetry workshops and performances by Black Cat Theatre.
Also, in the tent we had a film screening of James Lockey’s ‘Depictions of DN’ Film which featured a film score by Hayley Youell.
Outside the Tipi’s Wayne Sables brought his fantastic Starling Murmuration Sculpture with Projection Mapping. This was a fabulous addition to the grounds and a great interactive experience for the public.
Unfortunately because of weather conditions we have had to close the outdoor activities in the Tipi for the rest of the weekend for safety reasons. We did however get a visit from Patrick the Heron who entertained the community outdoors!
Outdoor Activities
Photography by James Mulkeen
Thank you!
Right Up Our Street want to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped bring the DN Festival of Light back to the Minster this year.
Heinrich and Palmer for creating ‘The Crossing Place’, Wayne Sables for his Starling Murmuration Sculpture, Diana from Black Cat Theatre for providing the Puppetry workshops in the Tipi' and Karen Hall for the craft actitivites. Edgeland Arts for bringing along Patrick the Heron. Hayley Youell and James Lockey for their collaboration on the Depictions of DN Film. The Swag and Swaglets (darts) choir and Alice, Doncaster Choral Society and South Yorkshire Police Band for taking part in the performance and recording of ‘All Kinds (Loves Courageous)’, Leigh Baker and Simon for their work and support on the composition. The Read 2 Write group and the Care Homes for reading their fantastic poetry for our Community Launch.
A massive thank you to Doncaster Minster - who give us the use of their building, at no cost to us. Who trusted us to present the work and deliver a safe event. Thank you to all who donated. Funding will be used to maintain the beautiful stained glass in the Minster.
Events Doncaster for funding the tipi this year - though super sad that Storm Arwen meant that this offer was only available on the opening night.
Doncaster Culture & Leisure Trust and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council for their continued support and of course Doncaster Gallery, Library and Museum for the exhibition space and trusting us to try new things in their new gallery.