Walking Tour – Art Installations in Blackpool
Polly Checkland Harding
Part of the first ever LightPool Festival in Blackpool, this special walking tour joins together some of the town’s most iconic buildings, and features more than 20 light-art works from local, national and international artists. The installations form an artistic journey during the festival, moving between the socially-minded Art Is Your Human Right by Bob and Roberta Smith, where illuminated words will be hung in eye-catching locations, and Steve Messam’s When the Red Rose which in Blackpool appears as a bright red beacon on the prom. The walking tour will also take in Compagnie Bilbobasso’s performance of Polar, Ron Haselden’s Brothers and Sisters, 34 drawings in light by children, and Santiago by Emma Allen, an animated self-portrait that combines body-painting and light to explore human evolution. You can start anywhere but we suggest you orientate yourself at Blackpool’s premier gallery The Grundy, currently showing a fabulous exhibition Neon: The Charged Line and a gorgeous display on the rotunda which looks back to early 20th century designs for the Illuminations.
