Sustainability

Artichoke is committed to minimising the environmental impact of LUMIERE and are delighted to be working with Julie's Bicycle to reduce the environmental impact of LUMIERE 2011. Julie's Bicycle is a non-profit company working with the arts and creative industries to understand and reduce their environmental impacts.

Light Pollution

We have also consulted with Professor Ian Smail, Head of Astronomy, Department of Physics at Durham University, who confirmed that the staff and students saw a decrease in light pollution over the city during the 2009 festival:

"LUMIERE festival was a significant *improvement* in terms of light pollution in the city as it meant the main lights illuminating the Cathedral were turned off.  These are otherwise a major source of light pollution for our telescopes...almost all of the additional lighting which was installed in the city was downward pointing and hence had almost no detrimental impact on our telescopes. 

So, they (and I) are all looking forward to this year's event - for both artistic and scientific reasons."

Energy Efficiency

Artichoke is working with artists and suppliers to make sure that artworks are as energy efficient as possible. Many installations (which will be lit for only 20 hours over the course of the project) will use low-energy lighting technology, and in order to allow them to be appreciated, we're turning off street lights and flood lighting which are, in many cases, more power hungry because they are many years old. 

Reducing Carbon Emissions

Our staff and crew use public transport where feasible, and our artists are encouraged to travel by rail thanks to our partnership with East Coast. We are working to reduce the number of generators we use across the festival and are working with local suppliers to ensure that equipment is sourced locally where possible.

How You Can Help

Visitors can help too. Please do make sure you switch off lights at home or work before you leave, and turn the heating down. And please travel to LUMIERE by public transport or ensure that you have a full car, if possible. You could even offer a lift to someone who needs one by using liftshare. You can read more about liftshare in Travel.