Some of the artists behind the 2023 River of Light installations inspired minds and illuminated creativity with special workshops and masterclasses with local schools, colleges and universities.
As part of the River of Light 2023 engagement programme, Julio Himede – the man responsible for the Eurovison 2023 stage design – and his Yellow Studio team worked with two third-year students from Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). The students played a pivotal role in programming the lights for the ‘United by Light’ installation which hundreds of thousands of people enjoyed across ten nights.
We caught up with LIPA student, Harry, to hear all about his experience working with the international artist on this installation.
What was your involvement in the ‘United By Music’ installation as part of River of Light 2023?
My tutor was contacted by Yellow Studio who were looking for a third year student that was interested in designing and programming their ‘United By Music’ installation. I thought it sounded like an interesting challenge and a great opportunity to get my name out to some well known people in the industry. I used a software called Pharos to program and design each light change and time it to the music that I was given. All together I think there were around 240 unique scenes throughout the six minute piece.
What was it like to work with international artist Julio Himede from New York’s Yellow Studio?
Julio, the Yellow Studio team and other companies involved in the build of the installation were amazing to work with. Getting the opportunity to meet a well-known designer like Julio is rare and even more so to work with them. Julio was very kind and generous, and like all good members of this industry, offered plenty of advice and suggestions which was really helpful in the process.
Has the experience had any impact on your creative thought process and future career aspirations?
This experience has definitely helped with my confidence within the industry. Working on a production within education, even to the scale we do at LIPA, can sometimes feel like there is a safety net. There’s always someone you can turn to for help or advice but working on a professional production you are expected to play your part and complete your role, which did cause some worry at first but once i got stuck into the design and got everything tested on site, i could start to relax and have some fun with the project.
How important are opportunities like this and what advice would you give to those who are looking to do something similar?
These opportunities are really rare, and it’s usually even rarer to find yourself capable or available to do them. I would always take the opportunities even if your confidence is low because deep down, if you think you can do it, you can. Any opportunity to get your name out to professionals such as Julio and and bosses at MSP and LED Creative, who supplied the equipment for the installation, is huge as you never know what will come from it. And if nothing comes from it, you still have the experience and your name on the project which will forever be on your CV and social media for future employers to see.
Find out more about Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
Learn more about Julio Hemende and Yellow Studio.
