Do you remember when international projection artists Illuminos lit up The Atkinson in March 2020, just before lockdown?… As part of Sefton Borough of Culture 2020, The Nightingale’s Song was a spectacular celebration of Sefton’s coastline using Waterloo Town Hall, Bootle Town Hall and The Atkinson as a backdrop for the intricate light displays.
On Friday 25, Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 March 2022 Illuminos are reawakening The Nightingale’s Song in a series of three new mesmerising projections in collaboration with Guildhall Live Events, Lightworks, and artist Amelia Kosminsky.
Residents and visitors can enjoy a triumphant series of video projection artworks celebrating the history of Sefton; The Echo at Southport Market, The Whisper at Bootle Canalside and The Song at The Atkinson.
You can see part three of the trilogy, The Song, outside The Atkinson this Sunday 27 March. Projections begin at 8.30pm and 9pm.
The Nightingale’s Song Reawakened is a tale of magic and wonder, of myths and wondrous creatures, spectacular nature, of ships and sailing, of peoples past and present that captures the history of Sefton. The projections are anchored through following the journey of the Natterjack Toad; the endangered amphibian who lives in the Sefton dunes. Known as the Birkdale Nightingale because of its extraordinary night time song, it becomes the character we follow, symbolising the growth and transition through ever changing stages of egg, tadpole, and toad.
The Echo begins the events at Southport Market. In this unique video installation echoes of images morph and flow across screens, and visitors through their movements in the space trigger visual moments that interact and cause ripples across the artwork. A toad hops, a biplane soars, waves roll in and seasons change. By changing their positions and working together, visitors can uncover the many secrets and echoes of Sefton’s past and present.
The Whisper takes place at Bootle Canalside event space. Here emerging artist Amelia Kosminsky transforms the surfaces of the buildings into vast dreamlike canvases of video art. Making extensive use of archive images, newspaper cuttings, landscapes and histories of Bootle, audiences are invited to soak up a visual journey from land through canal and waterway to rolling sea.
The Song completes the events at The Atkinson, Southport. In a vast and dramatic finale, the architecture of the Atkinson is transformed to tell the story of Sefton through egg, tadpole and toad as storms rage, arcades whirr, vikings rise, railways build, and the Birkdale Nightingale sings, in a celebration of Sefton and its coastline.
Projection Times
The Nightingale’s Song Reawakened is in three parts free to everyone:
The Echo, Southport Market
Friday 25 March: 10am-10pm
Saturday 26 March: 10am-10pm
Sunday 27 March: 10am-8pm
Wednesday 30 March: 5:30pm-9pm
Thursday 31 March: 5:30pm-9pm
Friday 1 April: 10am-10pm
Saturday 2 April: 5:30pm-10pm
Sunday 3 April: 10am-8pm
The Whisper, Bootle Canalside
Saturday 26 March: 8pm-10pm
The Song, The Atkinson, Southport
Sunday 27 March: 8.30pm and 9pm
Food and drink will be available at Southport Market and Bootle Canalside throughout the shows.
Posted on 21 March 2022 under General news