Medway Light Nights, a free spectacular festival of light, will transform Rochester’s iconic buildings and spaces into works of art on Friday and Saturday, 11 and 12 February 2022.
Medway Light Nights is a free spectacular festival of light which will transform Historic Rochester’s iconic buildings and spaces into works of art on Friday and Saturday, 11 and 12 February 2022.
Medway Council, in partnership with Emergency Exit Arts, has commissioned local, national and internationally-renowned artists, to work alongside our young people and communities, to deliver an incredible event.
Booking not necessary, just turn up!
#MedwayLightNights #CreativeMedway
Medway Light Nights is produced by Emergency Exit Arts in partnership with Medway Council. This event has been sponsored by Arts Council England, The Welcome Back Fund, Leigh Academy Trust, and Kent University.
Download the full Medway Light Nights brochure and map (PDF)
If Not Now is a mass movement spectacular
If Not Now is a mass movement spectacular featuring a volunteer cast of performers alongside Icon Theatre’s professional cast and creative team, exploring contemporary opportunities for profound social change.
CROSSROADS by Lucid Creates will be in Boley Hill, Rochester
CROSSROADS by Lucid Creates uses the optical illusions created by light, sound and mirrors to transport audiences to a place where good things have happened and the future we want exists now.
We are Medway
Cohesion Plus, working in partnership with Ideas Test, will be delivering the Night Light’s Lantern Parade along Historic Rochester High Street as well as an outdoor community film installation which play over the 11 and 12 February.
Illuminarealities by University of Kent
Feeding from the stories and messages from Charles Dickens' literature, Illuminarealities aims to combine light and architecture, creating a fusion of the two
Charles Dickens' Flying Circus by Dream Safari
Local street artist Dream Safari paints a mural of Charles Dickens in the Eastgate Gardens, next to his chalet, where the great author worked on some of his best-known novels.
Dancing with Dickens by Fabric Lenny. Photo: Karol Wyszynski / The Brick Box
Dancing with Dickens is a live animated character driven projection work starring Dickensian characters, busting moves and throwing shapes to an eclectic playlist of tunes.
A Tale of Two Cities by Mona Whitton
This installation seeks to illustrate elements of Dickens iconic work A Tale of Two Cities through the creation of two shadow-box pieces, one depicting Paris, the other London.
Cuckoo Clock Cinema by 51 Zero
Inspired by Rochester High street’s unique shops and quirky objects for sale such as kaleidoscopes, music boxes, snow globes, weathervanes and cuckoo clocks, 51zero presents an evening of projections from the windows of Store 104 where the architecture of the building will be framing the show.
Dickensian Fire Laboratory by EEA
Be Transported back in time to the Dickensian age and wander through a vista of flames and chemical reactions within the Vines of Rochester.
The Hourglass by EEA. Photo Credit: Lizzie Coombes
Conceived and produced by Illuminos for Emergency Exit Arts, this new piece is a 4-metre-high sculpture, using projection mapping and sound to tell immersive impactful stories.
Peace and Recovery Poems. Photo Credit by: Alex Bamford Photography
Two large, illuminated poems share messages on peace and recovery.
The Empty Chair Trail
For the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ death in 2020, Medway-based literary organisation Wordsmithery commissioned 10 poets with links to Medway to write new poems inspired by Charles Dickens’ life and works. The poems were printed on boards which form a trail, then placed in locations around Medway and nearby with links to Charles Dickens’ life.
To see the full list of poem venues – visit Wordsmithery’s website.
Medway Light Nights Map
Are you an artist, practitioner or producer interested in Light events? Then come join us for the Light Up The South East Symposium! (live and on zoom).
The Symposium will start at 3pm and finish at 5.45pm on Friday, 11 February, before the Medway Light Night event starts at 6pm.
The symposium will involve short presentations from various producers and practitioners who specialise in outdoor art events and light installations, including the likes of Arts Council England, Lucid Creates, Icon Theatre and Outdoor Arts UK. The presentations will finish at 4.15pm, followed by a discussion of how we might work in partnership more effectively to create light projects. Guests will then be directed to the commencing of Medway Light Nights.
The symposium will be taking place both live at the Rochester Corn Exchange, but also online via Zoom. There will be a BSL interpreter for this event.
If you are interested in attending, please register your interest at [email protected]
There is limited parking available in Rochester, so we highly recommend those that are able, consider coming by train or bus. For those who are driving, car parks can be found here.
Arriving by bus
There are many bus stops in and around Rochester, and Rochester is well served by bus routes.
Plan your journey at www.arrivabus.co.uk
Arriving by train
Rochester Train Station is roughly a two-minute walk from the high street. Strood Train Station is under a 10-minute walk. Please visit South Eastern Trains' website to plan your journey.
Although this event is outdoor, it can get very busy, therefore face coverings are optional, but recommended. Please respect those wearing them.
This event is accessible, however some areas might be uneven due to the cobbled streets. Disabled parking can be found along The Esplanade and there are public disabled toilets opposite The Corn Exchange.
