Bristol artistry at its best: Local leads the way as Bristol Light Festival announces first three artworks for 2025 event

Bristol Light Festival is set to return to Bristol for 10 days of dazzling light-based artworks to brighten up the darkest nights of January and February 2025. Now, the first three artworks have been announced, with a whimsical world premiere of The Whilers, the return of Illumaphonium with the South West debut of Somnius and the delightfully kitsch spectacle of Ramandu's Table, which will see an internationally recognised artist and Bristol graduate returning to the city with a flock of pink flamingos in tow…

2024’s edition of the festival saw 275,000 visitors head into the centre to marvel at the artworks and brought a huge £8.7m of additional revenue to the area. The award-winning festival, which has recently been shortlisted in the Tourism Event/Festival of the Year category in the Bristol Bath and Somerset Tourism Awards, will be bringing its fifth iteration to Bristol’s city centre between Friday 31st January and Sunday 9th February.

Artists from near and far will be welcomed to the city for the festival and the first three artists have particularly strong connections to Bristol. Details of their eclectic, family-friendly works hint at a lineup that is set to reawaken a childlike sense of wonder in all who visit…

The Whilers by Air Giants - World premiere

Experts in interactive soft robotics, Air Giants will be wowing crowds at the event with their pneumatically-controlled robotic creations. The Whilers are otherworldly creatures on a journey into the unknown who are stopping only briefly in Bristol to interact with its residents and each other. Air Giants’ Bristol-based team come from diverse backgrounds with broad experience in theatre design, software development and access and inclusion, and their work is centred around connection and companionship. Using cutting-edge robotics research, The Whilers use non-verbal sounds and language to communicate with one another, and to take notice of audience members for an immersive and awe-inspiring experience. 

Emma Powell of Air Giants, said: “It’s a real pleasure to present the world premiere of The Whilers at Bristol Light Festival. Bristol is a city of such community and connection, and that is exactly what we want to capture with these creatures. Although they are just passing by, their ability to connect with audiences due to their sensors detecting human movement will make their stay an impactful and memorable experience. Visiting The Whilers is a chance for people to stop, pause and enjoy some time with ethereal robots the likes of which we doubt they have ever seen before.”

Ramandu's Table by Bruce Munro

Taking inspiration from the original plastic pink flamingo creator, Don Featherstone, and from CS Lewis’ literature, Ramandu's Table will showcase nature in a whole new light. The installation, a flock of white flamingos, illuminated with an array of continually changing dawn hues, brings a new layer of artistry to the traditional flamingo statue associated with front yards in America. The artist wants audiences to enjoy the piece for exactly what it is, a vibrant depiction of some of nature’s most flamboyant and gregarious creatures. 

Bruce Munro, artist, said: It’s a pleasure to participate in Bristol Light Festival for 2025. I have many warm memories of my time at the faculty of Art and Design, Bristol Polytechnic where I completed a Fine Arts degree in 1982 and just scraped through with a third-class honours! I never thought I would be lucky enough to make a living as an artist, so it feels like a full-circle moment to come back and show this piece of work here! Many of my works, including this one, were inspired by books that I have read. In this instance Ramandu's Table is a bit of fun on a number of levels, the main one being it is a tongue in cheek interpretation of a chapter in CS Lewis “ Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” 

Somnius by Illumaphonium

For their second visit to Bristol Light Festival, following a dazzling double offering in 2023 with Continuum and Halo, Illumaphonium is returning once more to combine light and sound with their latest work, Somnius. Somnius is a cosmic blend of light and sound that responds to every movement of the audience. As participation in the installation grows, so does its soundscape and reactive illuminations, immersing crowds in a playful environment that puts them in control of their experience. Its appearance at Bristol Light Festival will be the installation's South West debut. 

Gemma Mills of Illumaphonium, said: “Bristol feels like a second home to us, so it’s really special to bring the work to one of our favourite UK cities. We know the people of Bristol love to come together and participate and that’s a really important part of this piece; the more people engage with the installation, the more of an experience it is. This is our most ambitious project to date, combining a quarter of a million light pixels and 970 sound bars, all of which have been soldered by hand. The spatial and synthy sound design combined with the use of light will create an environment that allows people to escape into another dimension.” 

Bristol Light Festival is founded by Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District (BID) and delivered in partnership with Redcliffe & Temple BID.  The festival’s Artwork Partner is Broadmead BID. Visit Bristol, Visit West's consumer channel for Bristol, is this year's media partner.The festival is curated by multi award-winning Creative Director, Katherine Jewkes.

Katherine Jewkes, Creative Director of Bristol Light Festival, said: “We’re thrilled to be announcing the first three installations heading to Bristol for the festival’s 2025 edition. Air Giants, Illumaphonium and Bruce Munro all have strong connections to Bristol and celebrate the broad and varied talent which is nurtured in the south west and celebrated around the globe. We can’t wait to see visitors creating illuminating soundscapes with Somnius, frolicking among the flamingos with Ramandu's Table and keeping magical creatures company along their journey with The Whilers! It’s always an honour to showcase such incredible talent, and this year is certainly no exception.”

Vicky Lee, Director of Bristol City Centre BID, said: “After the huge economic boost that 2024’s edition brought to the city, Bristol Light Festival is back to showcase our creative industries and give more people a reason to head into the city centre at a traditionally quieter time of year. This next iteration will once again shine a spotlight not only on the many talented artists but also on the city and the many brilliant experiences Bristol has to offer for people to enjoy as part of their visit to the festival.”

Steve Bluff, Head of Redcliffe & Temple BID, said: “Being a partner of the Bristol Light Festival is something we love, as we’re always looking for ways to welcome new visitors to different parts of the city. This year’s incredible installations offer up more reasons for people to come and explore Bristol while seeing some world-class artistry transforming some of our most iconic venues and outdoor spaces.”

Bristol Light Festival is a free event and will run from Friday 31st January - Sunday 9th February 2025. An award-winning festival, guests travelling from further afield can bolster their visit with an overnight stay in one of the city centre’s award-winning hotels, enjoying all that Bristol has to offer. 2024’s edition saw many attendees take part in other activities during their visit to the festival, including eating and drinking, shopping and other city centre entertainment - with 75% of those visiting coming to Bristol specifically for the event.