Opening weekend celebrations, summer holiday workshops, exhibitions and live performances will launch The Light as Durham City’s latest destination for culture, creativity and community.
The Durham County Council venue opens its doors on Saturday 22 August, with a vibrant programme of activities people of all ages will enjoy across the weekend and the remainder of the school holidays.
Inspired by The Light’s inaugural exhibitions, We Are The Durhams: The Durham Light Infantry Exhibition and Victory Over the Sun: Encounters with Light, the activities will provide a taster of the venue’s autumn/winter programme which will be announced next month.
From circus performers and brass bands to artist workshops, immersive installations, family activities and monthly-late night events, the Aykley Heads attraction will be a place to discover, create, connect and be inspired.
The opening weekend celebrations will begin on Saturday 22 August. As well as being among the first to view The Light’s exhibitions, visitors can relax with a picnic blanket or deckchair in the grounds and enjoy a programme of live performances.
Pittington Brass Band will perform a series of outdoor sets on the Saturday, while The Cequin Circus will bring the grounds to life with stilt walkers, disco-ball-headed dancers, and a spectacular choregraphed fire-spinning performance.
On the Sunday, audiences can enjoy live music from some of the North East’s most exciting singer-songwriters, including Steve Pledger, Ani Sandwith, Sam Slatcher, and Hels Pattison, alongside further performances from The Cequin Circus.
There will also be science inspired lawn games and activities for children and families.
Inside The Light, there will be a range of free drop-in creative experiences, including the chance to make a lantern to form part of a growing illuminated sculpture.
Visitors will also be invited to experiment with fluorescent materials within a glowing creative playground, where their drawings and messages will become part of an ever-changing light installation.
Cllr Karen Allison, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for leisure, tourism, regeneration and high street, said: “It’s not every day you get to launch a venue as special as The Light, which is why we are pulling out all the stops to deliver an unforgettable opening weekend.
“As the former home of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Museum and Durham Art Gallery, we know people will be excited to see how the building has been transformed. We are also looking forward to welcoming visitors to our inaugural exhibitions and showcasing how the building’s past, and its future as a centre for art, innovation, and history, have shaped the amazing cultural programme we will deliver this year.
“The Light represents a significant investment in culture. Not only will it entertain and inspire our communities, it will help to raise aspirations among young people and attract more visitors into the county, boosting our £1.5 billion tourism economy.”
The opening weekend celebrations will continue into the final weeks of the summer holidays with a packed programme of artist-led workshops and creative activities inspired by light, colour, perception, and imagination. Designed for children aged eight and over, the workshops will take place each day from 11am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 3.30pm. Tickets cost £8 per child (accompanying adult free). Highlights will include:
- Geli printing with Nick Christie. Create vibrant handmade prints using gelli plates, stencils, and natural materials. Monday 24 August.
- Watercolours with Suzanne Williams. Explore abstract watercolours and create a striking painting filled with colour and light. Tuesday 25 August.
- Sunlight Guardians mixed media workshop with Stephanie Archer. Use reflective materials to design a unique Sunlight Guardian. Participants will then explore surprising light effects through a playful torch-lit discovery experience combining art, storytelling, and science. Wednesday 26 August.
- Marvellous mosaics with Susan Warlock. Create a vibrant mosaic tile using tumbled glass in a range of shapes and colours. Thursday 27 August.
- Cyanotype Printing with Botanicals. Experiment with one of the earliest photographic processes creating beautiful prints using plants and natural materials gathered from The Light’s grounds. Friday 28 August.
The lawn games for children will continue between 10am and 5pm each day. There will also be free drop-in workshops from 11am to 3pm, including:
- Galaxy Pinwheels with Jenny McNamara. Create a colourful mixed-media pinwheel inspired by galaxies, stars and space exploration. Saturday 29 August.
- Drawing Sculptures with Zara Worth. Build, dismantle and reimagine glow-in-the-dark sculptures and explore drawing in three dimensions. Monday 31 August.
Victory Over the Sun: Encounters With Lightbrings together groundbreaking works by artists who use light in extraordinary ways, including Tracey Emin, Dan Flavin, Olafur
Eliasson, and Chila Burman. Running until Sunday 17 January 2027, it explores light as both subject and material, sparking questions of perception, nature and the cosmos.
Visitors to The Light will also have the chance to discover more about the DLI at a fascinating new permanent exhibition. Featuring images, sounds, hands-on activities and rich sensory experiences, We Are The Durhams builds upon the venue’s military heritage to tell a deeply human story of identity, belonging and community.
In addition to exhibition spaces, The Light also includes dedicated areas for creative and cultural activities such as talks, workshops and live events, a café with an outdoor terrace overlooking beautiful grounds, and flexible spaces for meetings and private hire.
Entry to The Light and We Are The Durhams is free.
Tickets for Victory Over the Sunare available to book online at www.thelightdurham.org.uk priced at £10 for adults and £2.50 for children under 18 for a two-hour timed entry slot. An exhibition season pass giving unlimited exhibition entry for the passholder is available priced at £25. Tickets will also be available to buy on the door when the venue opens priced at £12.50 for adults and £2.50 for children.
Parking at The Light on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August is for Blue Badge holders only. All other visitors should follow the temporary yellow event signage to the County Hall car park, where free event parking will be available. A clearly signposted pedestrian route will guide visitors from County Hall to The Light.
Visitors with very limited mobility can be dropped off at a designated accessible drop-off point within the turning circle adjacent to the Blue Badge parking area at The Light.
Details of The Light’s autumn/winter programme will be announced soon.
For more information and to book tickets for the summer holiday workshops and Victory Over the Sun, visit www.thelightdurham.org.uk. To stay up to date with the latest news and events, follow @thelightdurham on Facebook and Instagram.
