{"id":414417,"date":"2025-09-11T00:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T00:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/414417\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T00:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T00:04:09","slug":"river-of-light-returns-with-scientific-glow-up-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/414417\/","title":{"rendered":"River of Light Returns with Scientific Glow-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>River of Light <\/strong><strong>\u2013 the much-loved, free light festival which every year transforms Liverpool\u2019s iconic waterfront into an outdoor art gallery \u2013 has announced its 2025 line-up with a brand new theme.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This year, ten large-scale artworks will be showcased from Friday 24 October to Sunday 2 November, the 8th edition of the event celebrating the theme The Science of Light \u2013 with each of the installations inspired by\u00a0an area of science, technology or nature.<\/p>\n<p>Working alongside the city\u2019s incredible science and innovation community \u2013 each of the artworks aim to capture the imagination of visitors in new ways as they explore the 3km route along the waterfront, including the Royal Albert Dock Liverpool, as well as around the Pier Head, Exchange Flags and Liverpool ONE.<\/p>\n<p>Highlights from the programme include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Face Value<\/strong> by scientist Emma Brass, artist Venya Krutikov and the Invisible Wind Factory. This is a brand-new commission using AI and robotics to create an interactive light art game experience that foregrounds the capabilities of these technologies in a playful way.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dandelion<\/strong>\u00a0by Australian artists Amigo and Amigo which is inspired by the Dandelion flower and its wind-blown petals which some cultures revere for their medicinal qualities.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Within Water<\/strong> by New York design firm Yellow Studios \u2013 another new commission which explores the incredible natural phenomenon of marine bioluminescence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The full list of artworks, their locations, opening times and handy FAQs can be found on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visitliverpool.com\/river-of-light-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>River of Light website<\/strong><\/a> and latest information can be found at @visitliverpool (X, Facebook and TikTok) or @visitliverpool_ (Instagram).<\/p>\n<p>Due to the success of quiet hours at previous River of Light festivals which make the event even more accessible to visitors with additional needs, there will be two sessions taking place this year on Sunday 26 and Wednesday 29 October from 4-5pm. This will allow those with additional sensory needs to enjoy the artworks in a calmer environment.<\/p>\n<p>This latest instalment follows on from the huge success of 2024, when River of Light welcomed record-breaking visitor numbers and brought in a massive \u00a318.9 million to the local economy.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s event has been organised by Liverpool City Council\u2019s Culture Liverpool team, and supported by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Global Streets, the Royal Albert Dock Liverpool, the AI for Chemistry Hub (AIchemy), the Leverhulme Research Centre for Functional Materials Design at the University of Liverpool and Liverpool ONE.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Liverpool City Council\u2019s Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture, Councillor Harry Doyle, said: <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cRiver of Light is one of the stand-out moments every year in the city and is an event that has a real, positive impact on the local economy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has become a real, staple festival in people\u2019s diaries and its reputation for high-quality, free art that is accessible and enjoyable for all ages has really spread, and last year we found that it attracted more visitors than ever from outside the City Region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor us to handover the streets of Liverpool to artists \u2013 and this year scientists as well \u2013 is such a joyful experience and I can\u2019t wait to see locals and visitors enjoying this extraordinary art show again!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Emma Brass, the scientist\/artist behind Face Value, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a real pleasure to have the chance to bring the robotics research I\u2019ve been developing over the past three years at the University of Liverpool to a public event of this scale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis idea has been evolving for over 12 months. The piece has really grown through the combination of my robotics work with Venya Krutikov\u2019s creative technology skills, alongside input from the Invisible Wind Factory team. Together we\u2019ve created an interactive installation that brings art and science into conversation in an engaging way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Royal Albert Dock Estate Manager, Sean Morrison, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cRiver of Light has become a true highlight of Liverpool\u2019s autumn calendar, and we\u2019re delighted to be part of its continued success.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe festival not only showcases world-class art, but also brings together communities to celebrate our shared heritage in a truly special way. We\u2019re excited to see the 2025 theme of The Science of Light come to life, and play our part in hopefully making this another record-breaking year for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Colin Sinclair, CEO of Sciontec and Knowledge Quarter Liverpool said:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI am thrilled that science is the theme for River of Light this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCulture and innovation are two of the most important exports Liverpool and the wider region have to offer, and so being able to \u2013 literally \u2013 shine a spotlight on them is a great way of helping the wider public appreciate just how important our science community here in the city is on a global scale.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"event-detail-item\">\n                    <strong class=\"event-detail-item-title\">Categories:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/cultureliverpool.co.uk\/category\/2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2025<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/cultureliverpool.co.uk\/category\/arts-culture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arts &amp; Culture<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/cultureliverpool.co.uk\/category\/festivals-events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Festivals &amp; Events<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/cultureliverpool.co.uk\/category\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>                <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"River of Light \u2013 the much-loved, free light festival which every year transforms Liverpool\u2019s iconic waterfront into an&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,179,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-414417","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115182741985450907","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}