SPECTRA has closed for 2017 having drawn record numbers for the festival.
62,746 visitors enjoyed 30 installations across five stunning sites in the city nearly double the 35,000 that took in the 2016 festival.
Festival highlights included BAFTA award-winning artist Seb Lee-Delisle’s Laser Light Synths that wowed the crowds at Marischal College; while at St Nicholas Kirk visitors had the beautiful and hypnotic Pentatono by Yiannis Kranidiotis and Felix’s Machines by Felix Thorn inside the church while Elektromistel by Tobias Daemgen and Les Ariagnees by Groupe LAPS stunned in the kirkyard.
St. Nicholas Roof Top Garden welcomed the introduction of the True North Music Stage promoting home-grown talent, while Jim Buckley’s Rajio Taiso encouraged people to warm up the winters night through traditional Japanese calisthenics, and STACK Collective allowed visitors to become part of SPECTRA by contributing their evolving installation.
Union Terrace Gardens was the site for eagerly anticipated installation Cloud by Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett, alongside Wave Garden by Paul Friedlander, Forget Me not by Aberdeen Performing Arts Artist in Residence Sara Stroud, and the incredible Hot Heads by Pa-BOOM.
Bold beams of light shone out from the Archway at Robert Gordon’s College with internationally acclaimed artist Sandy McRobbie’s The Gateway, while at art space Seventeen on Belmont Street Jenny Dockett’s Illuminating Geometry displayed works from local school children that had been created as part of the Illuminating Geometry workshop series.
Aberdeen City Council Deputy Leader Councillor Marie Boulton said: “SPECTRA 2017 has exceeded our expectations. Each of the five sites has been packed with families and friends enjoying the installations, with incredible visitor numbers showing the popularity of cultural events in Aberdeen.
“Catalyst Conference held alongside SPECTRA has also shown the commitment of the arts industry to the changing economic landscape of Aberdeen. Industry leaders have participated in discussions that will not only influence the arts community locally, but also on a national and international scale.
“As Scotland, and Aberdeen’s reputation as a tourist destination continues to develop, attractions such as SPECTRA will play a pivotal role in the cultural offering that attracts visitors.
SPECTRA, supported through Aberdeen City Council’s Culture Programme, the Council’s ongoing commitment to recognise the city’s cultural aspirations to deliver a major step change in perception, opportunities and legacy, is the first major festival in the national celebration programme for the 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology, which explores Scotland’s intriguing history, impressive cultural heritage and fascinating archaeology at exciting experiences and events.