As Aberdeen’s award-winning festival of light and sound, SPECTRA, returns to the city this weekend, Aberdeen Inspired is encouraging visitors to take the opportunity to explore the wider city centre.
Thousands of people of all ages are expected to visit SPECTRA from today until Sunday evening (February 9-12), when spectacular installations will light up locations including the newly revamped Union Terrace Gardens, Marischal College and Broad Street.
Inspired by the theme of home, the festival brings a spectacular programme of free works by some of the world’s leading visual artists, studios and companies.
Adrian Watson, Chief Executive of city centre BID Aberdeen Inspired, hopes the SPECTRA weekend will see a huge increase in bookings at restaurants, bars, cafes and hotels.
The newly opened Resident X concept at Marischal Square is the festival’s official partner venue and the team has created a signature Aurora cocktail, as well as teaming up with Luxous to have its popular light tunnel programmed especially for SPECTRA.
“This year’s SPECTRA festival is much anticipated and we are looking forward to seeing the city centre streets packed with families and visitors of all ages as they explore these incredible visual art and light installations,” said Mr Watson.
“It’s also great to see Union Terrace Gardens being used again for the first time since 2018, following the major development of the gardens, and we now have new cafes and restaurants overlooking the gardens in the shape of the Common Sense Coffee House and Bar and The Terrace at HMT, as well as Resident X being the official festival partner venue.
“We’d encourage as many people as possible to make a night of it – or even a weekend – and enjoy a meal, drinks or an overnight stay in Aberdeen while they are enjoying SPECTRA. It is a must-see event and we hope visitors will also support our hospitality providers and retailers at the same time,” he added. “Our recent Aberdeen Restaurant Week was a huge success and this is a great way to keep the momentum going.”
SPECTRA is delivered by Aberdeen City Council and created in collaboration with arts production company Curated Place.
Among the festival highlights will be the first Scottish appearance of Australian Parer Studio’s Fantastic Planet, which will see towering humanoid figures descending on city centre locations, having travelled from afar to explore this part of our planet.
Illumaphonium will bring people together with a fun and spontaneous outdoor music-making experience, with more than 200 illuminated chime bars, each of which respond to touch with ever changing patterns of light and sound.
Union Terrace Gardens will also be transformed by two spectacular nature-inspired installations. Nature Nocturnal, from the Lantern Company, sees illuminated plants, insects and wildlife transform the slopes of the gardens, allowing visitors to experience the nocturnal natural world in a luminous lantern walk in a gently dazzling kaleidoscope of colour.
Sound Intervention’s towering otherworldly Luminosi Trees will create an absorbing, calming space in the centre of the gardens. These giant 6m tall jellyfish-like structures are built with thousands of sound responsive LEDs that respond in vibrant colours and mesmerising patterns to a Fibonacci-inspired soundscape, meaning it never repeats and will be different every time.
Sound Intervention will also be popping up around town with their Projector Bikes, electric trikes which have been transformed into mobile cinemas, ready to travel the streets of Aberdeen, improvising and interacting with audiences.
Broad Street will be transformed by Pulse, a spectacular 45-metre long light sculpture from Bristol-based creative team This Is Loop, a large-scale, mirrored light sculpture which offers a contemplative place for visitors of all ages, both day and night.
The festival programme also features new commissions that will light up iconic Aberdeen landmarks, including The Waxwing Wanes on His Majesty’s Theatre.
The SPECTRA programme will see live performers take centre stage, with Aberdeen’s Fusion Youth Dance Company set to premiere a new piece of outdoor performance.
Choreographed by Scottish dance artist Steven Martin and performed in the quadrangle at Marischal College, the piece will offer a live response to the Fantastic Planet installation.
Aberdeen Inspired was established to attract, sustain and boost investment in Aberdeen’s city centre for the benefit of its levy payers and all those who live, work, shop and visit there.
In addition to levy payments, which go to support city centre improvements and initiatives, the BID brings in additional funding which that for every £1 of levy collected, at least £2 is invested in the city centre.
The BID footprint covers Union Street and the surrounding streets, including Broad Street, Market Street, Bridge Street, Huntly Street and Holburn Junction.
Plan your visit to SPECTRA at https://www.spectrafestival.co.uk/