River of Light
Liverpool Waterfront
Every year, the waterfront of Liverpool is transformed into an outdoor exhibition of light. Artists from around the world bring fantastic light sculptures to different spots around the city to provide a walking trail of art. For 2023, the River of Light is embracing the legacy of Eurovision 2023 with a range of illuminated art pieces that draw on Eurovision and the connection the people of the city will forever have with Ukraine and the rest of Europe.
The event is totally free to attend. Visitors are guided on a loop of the Liverpool waterfront to experience the different lights and sounds of each exhibition. Each one offers something completely different to the next, with interactive elements and the ability to be lost inside giant art pieces.
Our favourites from the evening were Ukrainian Dreams by Tais Poda (cover image of this post) which was a projection onto the wall of one part of The Albert Dock. The entire piece was around 10 minutes and featured a range of traditional Ukrainian folk stories. We watched the entire thing multiple times as there was something different that stood out to us each time.
Another piece we enjoyed was Nova by Studio Vertigo which was at St Nicholas Church courtyard. This giant star looked stunning against the backdrop of the church, and despite being so close to the main road this entire area was oddly silent. We also enjoyed Elysian and Elysian Arcs by Atelier Sisu which were are the back of the town hall. Walking around these pieces felt like being trapped in futuristic rainbow planet.
Of course, embracing the legacy of Eurovision there was a piece dedicated to Eurovision which was called United by Music and had been produced by Yellow Studio. As huge Eurovision fans, we would have preferred much longer song clips so that we could fully dance along rather than the short snippets that the piece was using.
This event does get very busy, with lots of people walking the route. We had to wait at a few of the installations to be able to explore them as people seemed to arrive in waves, but with a bit of patience we were able to see everything with ease.
As this is a multi-sensory experience, there is music and smoke machines. There are quieter performances in which the music on each display is turned off so that those who have any sensory sensitivity can still enjoy the pieces, however, these may still be extremely busy.
Despite a very wet evening when we attended, everyone was in good spirits and this was another successful year for this event. We can’t wait to see what the 2024 River of Light has in store when it returns 25 October to 3 November 2024!
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