Growing and Glowing

Baker & Bliss’ Glowing and Growing was a highly successful, site-responsive, glow-in-the-dark, participatory installation, commissioned by Severn Arts for Worcester’s Light Night, February 9th – 15th 2024. It was conceived and facilitated by artists Lou Baker and Oly Bliss. 

Glowing and Growing focused on community engagement and developing strategies for wellbeing and improving mental health. It also highlighted issues surrounding textile waste, as almost all of the materials were second hand and will be reused again and again. Baker & Bliss offered visitors various activities for creative engagement at different levels; it was wonderful to see so many participants becoming absorbed and to see lots of smiles! With nearly 5500 visitors, it was a triumph. See the full documentation of Glowing and Growing here. 

Baker & Bliss are now working together to develop further the ideas behind Glowing and Growing. They’re envisioning the creation of a different kind of site-responsive, immersive installation, this time made up of a series of interconnecting spaces. It will be constructed by reusing the large glow-in-the-dark textile panels from Glowing and Growing, but with the addition of new sculptural elements, made by the artists. This exciting development will offer visitors more variety in curiosity-inducing and creative experiences. It will still offer various levels of engagement through a selection of playful participation opportunities, this time potentially including: 

  • Glow-in-the-dark graffiti: There will be several blank, white spaces with cloth surfaces and some white sculptures for visitors to draw on using blacklight-reactive glow-in-the-dark pens, which are made with recycled materials. Baker & Bliss recognise from Glowing and Growing that this was a highly engaging participatory activity, accessible to all ages, which enabled visitors to claim ownership of the space. 

  • Shapeshifting, glow-in-the-dark living sculptures: Visitors will be invited to become shapeshifting and glowing ‘living sculptures’ by trying on a selection of Lou Baker’s glow-in-the-dark knitted and stitched wearable pieces. They can choose to video themselves using a ‘video booth’ app on an iPad and upload their performance which will then appear on a life size TV screen or be projected in the space. For more information about the development of this joyous and engaging activity, please visit Lou Baker, Shapeshifting and Lou Baker, Living sculptures with ‘video booth’ app. 

  • Glow-in-the-dark labels: Visitors will also be invited to write a message on a luggage label using glow-in-the-dark pens and add it to the installation. 

  • Chill zones: Cosy spaces to hang out, with sculptural, comfy seating and immersive ambient sound. 

  • Newly commissioned sculptures: Baker & Bliss will develop a selection of new, abstract, queer and subversive sculptures which will become part of the installation. They will be made with used clothing and domestic textiles; some with glow-in-the-dark materials, others will be white, for the graffiti space.  

Baker & Bliss recognise that this is an ambitious project so will be happy to discuss bespoke requirements. The original Glowing and Growing was installed site-responsively in an empty retail unit, but feedback shows that the concept engages a wide range of audiences. The artists are confident that it’s highly adaptable and readily transferable to an art gallery setting as well. The project can be scalable relative to the commissioning of new work, the size and complexity of the space / installation, the variety of engagement offers and the number of facilitation days by the artists etc.  

For more information and to discuss commissions, please contact:  

Lou Baker [email protected] or Oly Bliss [email protected]. 
  
Lou Baker and Oly Bliss, June 2024 

Testimonials for Glowing and Growing: 

‘Baker and Bliss created an unforgettable immersive light experience at Light Night Worcester 2024. Lou and Oly were professional, dedicated, and reliable at all stages of the commission. Their work with the community groups and public was welcoming and supportive, with some visitors returning each day to play some more! Their vision was clear and exciting, they embraced every opportunity and allowed their work to find its own way within the space. It was such an honour to see the installation grow and watch their creative expertise shine. I look forward to the next time we work together!’  

Katy Rooke, Creative Producer of Severn Arts Light Night, Worcester 2024 

More Info

 

Manage Cookie Preferences