Green Space Dark Skies announces Ben Nevis as Scottish location in Finale Event

On Saturday 10 September, Ben Nevis in the Glen Coe National Scenic Area (NSA) will provide the backdrop to the last Scottish Green Space Dark Skies outdoor artworks.

Article Source: UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK
Last Updated: 9 August 2022 12:12

WRAPPING UP A SUMMER OF OUTDOOR EVENTS, SCOTLAND’S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN TO HOST ONE OF FOUR UK FINALE LOCATIONS

FINALE TO BE BROADCAST ON TV LATER THIS YEAR

On Saturday 10 September, Ben Nevis in the Glen Coe National Scenic Area (NSA) will provide the backdrop to the last Scottish Green Space Dark Skies outdoor artworks produced by Walk the Plank as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK. The project's finale events will happen across the UK’s four highest mountains throughout September, beginning with Scafell Pike in England, followed by Ben Nevis in Scotland, then Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon in Wales, and ending at Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland. The events will be captured on film to be shown as part of a BBC Countryfile special later this year, and will be accessible on BBC iPlayer and later on Green Space Dark Skies’ own website.

Choreographed patterns inspired by Ben Nevis’ unique history and geology will be created at dusk, using innovative low impact 'Geolights' designed with Siemens, and carried by local participants known as ‘Lumenators’. A once-in-a-lifetime adventure, the creative team behind Green Space Dark Skies hopes that the shared experience will create a stronger connection to the landscape for participants and thousands of visitors who enjoy the Ben Nevis area each year.

Keren McKean, Walk the Plank’s Producer for Scotland says: "'Green Space Dark Skies’ epic finale will feature stunning visuals and emotive stories from the UK's four most iconic mountain locations. For Scotland, we hope to connect and inspire local communities, as well as over 125,000 walkers who visit Ben Nevis each year, to love and look after the landscape. We are working closely with landowners and local partners to ensure we are able to deliver our carbon-net-positive objectives and leave no trace."

Ahead of the finale, some of Scotland’s most scenic spots will be highlighted with participant-led, light-based artworks throughout August, including Cairngorms National Park, Orkney Mainland and North Ronaldsay. Although the exact locations are being kept a secret to protect the landscape, the magical moments will be captured by Scottish Film Director Rupert Shanks and will soon be available to watch for free on the Green Space Dark Skies website.

At the Cairngorms event, taking place this Thursday 11 August, Lumenators will make an exciting outdoor artwork on both land and water using paddle boards and kayaks. Aside from the main event in the evening, Lumenators will have exclusive access to a packed programme of outdoor activities from live music and storytelling workshops to VR experiences and water sports lessons.

Green Space Dark Skies is working with local volunteers, artists, community groups and locations involved in each of the artworks, with a focus on ensuring that those who face physical or cultural barriers to accessing nature and rural landscapes are encouraged to explore and enjoy the outdoors.

For those who want to be a part of the Ben Nevis event, creating stunning light-based artworks in one of the country’s most iconic spots, registration is available on the Green Space Dark Skies website and must be done in advance. Participants will access the lower slopes of the mountain and during a physically challenging day with 6.5 hours scheduled at the location.

Finale Director Mark Murphy says: “We ask for three things from Lumenators – your time, your energy and your creativity. In return we will give you an enormously enriching day and night you’ll never forget.”

Green Space Dark Skies is one of 10 major creative projects commissioned by UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, a celebration of creativity taking place across the UK in 2022, designed to reach millions and bring people together. UNBOXED features free large-scale events, installations and globally accessible digital experiences in the UK’s most ambitious showcase of creative collaboration. The programme goes beyond creativity, with ambitious sustainability goals guiding Green Space Dark Skies projects including having a carbon-net-positive* impact on the 20 chosen outdoor spaces and leaving no trace.

Martin Green CBE, Chief Creative Officer of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK said: “This Green Space Dark Skies Finale gathering will encapsulate the brilliant innovation and creativity we have seen harnessed through this year’s UNBOXED projects. By engaging artists, engineers, landowners and members of the public to create a series of unique experiences, Green Space Dark Skies is enhancing people’s understanding of our natural environment and relationship to the countryside as well as show the power of creativity to inspire change.”

The Finale gathering marks one of the last parts of the Green Space Dark Skies series of events, which have taken place around the UK. As part of the event, people are submitting their own experiences and memories of being in the landscape to the Green Space Dark Skies’ citizen science survey creating a free online archive available for anyone to view: https://greenspacedarkskies.uk/green-space-stories.

Lumenators will be participating in Finale events on Scafell Pike on 3 September, Ben Nevis on 10 September and Slieve Donard on 24 September; however, they will not be going to the summits. There will be no Lumenators at Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) to protect the mountain landscape.

Please note, this event depends on landowner permissions, approval of event plans and local stakeholder engagement, and therefore event locations and dates may be subject to change.

Image credit: Green Space Dark Skies, Ben Nevis and Glen Coe (NSA)