LewesLight Festival 2020 – the details you need to know

Installations will go on show at a six locations across the town, with around 15,000 people expected to attend over the three days. Here are the details you need to know. When will it take place? LewesLight will run from Friday (February 28) until Sunday (March 1) from 6pm to 9.30pm each day and is free to attend. It is the first time the festival has run at this time of year – the past four festivals ran in October, with the last in October 2018. How many installations will there be and where will they be on show? Fifteen installations in light, sound and space, created by artists and designers from Lewes, across the UK and abroad, will be on show at The Railway Land Wildlife Trust, Southover Grange Gardens, Depot, The Cliffe Bridge, Pells Pool, and Trinity Church. Festival director Graham Festenstein said: “I think people will find them quite surprising and refreshing.” What is the theme for 2020? Mr Festenstein says there are ‘multiple threads’ to the 2020 festival. At its core, it will explore ‘moonlight and water with a narrative inspired by the environment, dark skies, sea level rise and climate change’. The last festival, in 2018, had the theme missing, drawing inspiration from events 100 years ago, and was hailed the ‘most successful yet’ by organisers. What is new for the fifth festival? There are ‘quite a few changes’ for 2020, says Mr Festenstein. He says that the theme is a departure from previous years, which have had an historic focus, installations are being spread across more locations and there are no walking tours. Mr Festenstein said: “There’s quite a few big departures but I think they’re going to be really positive and benefit our visitors.” How many people are involved? The festival involves more than 100 volunteers, contributors and students. This year it is working with the Lewes Railway Land Wildlife Trust’s RATS (Raising Awareness of Tides and Sea Levels) group and the Environment Agency to involve secondary schoolchildren. It has also collaborated with The Manor Green College, in Crawley, to involve children with learning difficulties, and its team has worked with undergraduate and postgraduate students from Brighton University School of Art and University College London. When was the event formed? LewesLight was born out of the UNESCO International Year of Light in 2015. It is run as a not-for-profit community interest company and operates with the help of a grant from Lewes Town Council. For more details, see leweslight.uk