“The advantage of ageing is that you haven’t got too much to lose whatever the risk you take, and risk taking seems an essential ingredient in making art”
Luminary
Luminary is a new commission, and our ambition is to create a spectacular, new sculptural work with British artist Ron Haselden. Comprising twelve, ten-metre high ‘light’ drawings of older people, the work would have an indoor element at Fabrica gallery and an outdoor element on the streets of Brighton during the 2016 Brighton Festival. Beyond May 2016 we are exploring touring Luminary across the UK.
The title, Luminary, combines two ideas in one: literally that the artwork itself will emit light, and metaphorically that older people influence, inspire and bring knowledge to the rest of society. Beyond creating a beautiful artwork that all ages will be able to enjoy, we see Luminary as a way to highlight the commentary, creativity and value to society of the older person and to bring in a wider debate about the experience of ageing in the UK.
Luminary takes advantage of Fabrica’s extensive work and expertise in developing older audiences for contemporary visual art and offers a new commission opportunity to Ron Haselden, a highly-respected, highly-skilled artist with an international track record spanning five decades. He creates artworks using light, sound, film and video for galleries and public places.
As a septuagenarian, Ron finds himself reflecting a great deal on being older. Many older people do not find it easy to have their voice heard as contemporary life rushes on. The value of the older person, for the main part, slips too readily out of sight. I see the work, Luminary, as giving older people much more visibility, by presenting in quite a confrontational way, very large illuminated drawings in very public spaces.
For this project we are working with co commissioners Brighton Festival, England’s largest annual multi-artform festival and partners MSL Projects, an established arts producer specialising in outdoor and participatory arts across the UK.
Luminary is generously supported by the Baring Foundation.