Children’s art takes flight in Senate House light show
Children from four city primary schools were able to see their artistic creations come to life when their work was projected onto Cambridge’s Senate House.
The picturesque University of Cambridge building was transformed on Thursday and Friday, November 10-11, as part of the Cambridge Music Festival.
The festival commissioned Cambridge community artist Hilary Cox-Condron to lead workshops at the Castle School and Year 3 pupils at Arbury, Galfrid and St Matthew’s primary schools.
More than 200 pupils created their own artwork inspired by the creatures featured in Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals, which was then used to create a spectacular light show by Newcastle-based video design specialists NOVAK.
Hilary said: “It was the brainchild of Nicky Webb, who’s an arts producer that lives here in Cambridge and works with the Cambridge Music Festival. The idea was to create something that included a lot of children and families – we know that a lot of children don’t access the city, especially the university grounds. The Senate House is a really iconic building, but so often we just see it behind closed gates.
“So the idea of bringing it to life with these children’s artwork was about connecting children and families to our city, and to the Music Festival and to art. And just bringing a bit of joy to the city centre, bringing a lot of people together – which it did. It was lovely.”
Hilary notes that “hundreds and hundreds” of people turned out to view the building over the two days. “It was really busy within the grounds,” she said. “The grounds were open, the gate was open. We’re used to so many gates being shut, so it was really nice to have that open space, and people spilling out onto the roads and pavements and cafés.”
[Read more: Stunning light show of children’s art to illuminate Senate House in Cambridge, Ten new Dinky Doors appear in Cambridge for a Christmas trail]
The artwork wasn’t simply projected onto the side of the building, as Hilary explains: “It worked with the architecture of the Senate House façade, so it incorporated the pillars and the windows – it was an absolutely brilliant piece of animation.”
