SJ8097 : The Speed of Light, Lowry Square
taken 12 years ago, near to Trafford Park, Trafford, England
Over three bitterly cold evenings in March 2013, hundreds of artists in LED light suits created a human work of art as they jogged, walked, and ran through the streets around the Salford Quays waterfront in a celebration of movement, light and sound.
NVA’s (Link ) Speed of Light uses light, intentional movement and sound to change the way we see and feel about a chosen environment. Over 400 runners took part in the performance, activating specially designed, individual light suits to bring the urban landscape to life. Each night, the runners animated the area with patterns of light flowing through the streets, along the canal banks, over the bridges and public spaces around The Lowry, Imperial War Museum North and MediaCityUK as they moved in choreographed patterns set to a specially commissioned audio accompaniment.
A centrepiece of the Edinburgh International Festival and recently staged in the docklands of Yokohama in Japan , the hour-long night-time event was taking place for the first time in England, on 21, 22 and 23 March 2013. It was commissioned by Quays Culture, a new arts programme based at Quays/MediaCityUK, which aims to attract local and international talent to Greater Manchester.