Theme announced for 2017 Cambridge e-Luminate

Thursday 10 November 2016

The theme for the next e-Luminate Cambridge Festival has been announced as ‘Play of Light’, a theme which enhances the Festival’s uniquely interactive, fun and playful nature. The event will return to dazzle spectators from the 10 to the 15 of February 2017.

e-Luminate Cambridge is a contemporary arts festival for a city at the forefront of technological research, offering the opportunity for residents and visitors to discover the richness and diversity of the city’s iconic buildings and public spaces in a new light. The 2017 Festival will again be taking place in venues across the city, and will include for the first time an innovative conference in the Corn Exchange and Guildhalls.

Festival Director Alessandra Caggiano is curating the 2017 Festival with Pat Kane, a writer, curator and researcher. Since he published The Play Ethic in 2004, much of Kane’s work has focused on the themes of play, creativity and innovation, including his role as founding creator of Nesta’s FutureFest event and curation of its PLAY strand. The combination of their experience promises to make this year’s ‘Play of Light’ Festival particularly imaginative, memorable and stimulating.

e-Luminate Cambridge acts as a platform, facilitating and delivering exciting new ideas by working with a range of different partners and supporters at the crossing of art and technology. An integral part of the ability to do this is the involvement and financial support from local businesses with shared values and an interest in showing what a marvellous place Cambridge is.

For 2017, the Festival is hoping to build on and forge new relationships with sponsors and partners who support the programme with equipment, speakers and funding in exchange for a unique opportunity to literally shine a light on their brand. Opportunities exist to support the Festival either in broad terms or for specific installations or events, and the team are keen to explore new ideas around the theme ‘Play of Light’.

Festival Director, Alessandra Caggiano, said “I am particularly excited about the theme of ‘Play of Light’ as it allows us to shine a light onto two very important aspects of Cambridge which we had not yet fully engaged with in previous editions: gaming and sports. Be prepared to have some serious fun at next year’s e-Luminate Cambridge Festival!”

Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, commented on the decision for e-Luminate Cambridge to become part of Cambridge Live, saying “This sounds like a very positive step forward and of course I'm delighted to carry on as Ambassador of the e-Luminate Cambridge Festival.”