Scotland's 'premiere light festival' returns to Aberdeen next month

The return of SPECTRA, Scotland’s Festival of Light, to Aberdeen’s city centre in February this year has been welcomed by local officials.

With a line-up of acclaimed UK and international artists which marks it out among light festivals in Scotland free to enjoy, thought-provoking, hugely fun and perfect for people of all ages SPECTRA is back!

In 2020 alongside the festival, the 2020 CATALYST Conference returns with a line-up bringing together the arts sector, heritage organisations, tourism and socially engaged businesses in association with Culture Aberdeen.

Tickets are now on sale for the CATALYST Conference which this year explores how together it is possible to shift the value of culture and creativity to the forefront as towns become more than just a centre for retail and commerce and are required to become Liveable Cities where creativity, art and culture are essential to their future.

With a focus on the five key ambitions of Culture Aberdeen’s 2018-2028 Strategy the conference aims to bring together the experts to share experience of creating towns and cities ready for the future with culture at their heart.

Bringing ambitious and pioneering figures from across Scotland, the UK and Nordic Region alongside Aberdeen’s own culture sector and SPECTRA’s artists, all of the expert speakers have activated the uniqueness of where they work drawing on personal history, rooted heritage, artistic experiments and new approaches to socially engaged business to shape liveable places. They will share their experience of creating and sustaining meaningful cultural programmes that have demonstrable impact beyond the arts.

Cllr Marie Boulton, Aberdeen City Council Culture Spokesperson said: “Every year Spectra lights up Aberdeen with fantastic artworks and we’re excited to see the Spectra conference will also be lighting up the city with ideas, talks and challenges, igniting our creativity and serving as an important focus for Scotland’s culture sector, while the main event happens in the streets around the city centre. The programme is filled with speakers who will be able to share their vast experience with us and hopefully serve as a catalyst for future projects as we look to continue growing Aberdeen’s vibrant cultural offering.”

Andy Brydon, Director of Curated Place said: “The Catalyst Conference is a really important element of the Spectra Festival. Each year we bring together a line-up of arts sector, heritage organisations, tourism and socially engaged businesses with ambitious and pioneering speakers from across Scotland, the UK and Nordic Region – alongside Aberdeen’s own culture sector and our SPECTRA artists. This year’s headline is Culture is not a Luxury. We want to explore how together we can shift the value of culture and creativity to the forefront as towns cease to be merely a centre for retail and commerce and are required to become liveable cities where creativity, art and culture are essential to their future. This is a great opportunity to share ideas and develop networks, and there will be representatives there ready to connect delegates to overseas projects, programmes and funding, providing a great opportunity for arts organisations to internationalise their partnerships.”

Speakers announced to date include Adele Patrick – Founder of Glasgow Women’s Library, Imandeep Kaur – Co-founder of Impact Hub Birmingham, Tom Freshwater – Head of Public Programmes National Trust, Libby Curtis – Head of Gray’s School of Art, Helene Ødegaard – Stavanger Kommune Smart Cities Arts Advisor, Kim Simpson – Curator & Producer Scotland in Brussels 2019, Kate Craddock – Founder GIFT Festival, Seb Lee-Delisle – Artist, Luke Egan – Founder Designs in Air, Steve Symons – Artist & Creative Technologist and Anna Heinrich and Leon Palmer – Artists.

More information on each speaker and tickets are available at www.spectrafestival.co.uk