A GROUND-BREAKING arts project designed to show Poole town centre in a whole new light, takes place next month.

The first Light Up Poole festival will completely transform the area between Falkland Square and the Quay after dark into a wonderland of lights to be enjoyed by all ages.

International and local artists, many of them working in collaboration with Poole schools and arts organisations, have been given a platform to showcase their pioneering work in a celebration of Poole’s cultural diversity, rich heritage and unique location.

The three-day digital light festival which runs from February 15 to February 17, also forms the first part of the 40th birthday celebrations for Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts in 2018.

“We’ve chosen the theme of Identity and challenged digital artists, architects and lighting designers to reinvent themselves and consider the town as their main inspiration,” says Libby Battaglia of festival directors, Audacious.

“Light Up Poole will show how something as simple as light can completely transform a place you think you know. It’s warm, it’s safe, people are drawn by it to come together and share the experience.

“It is a great opportunity for the people of Poole to really celebrate its growing reputation as a destination for artistic excellence, cultural learning and innovative collaborations between business and the arts.”

One of the highlights is Submergence – an immersive, responsive, walk-through experience created by Squidsoup (pictured) which uses more than 5,000 individual points of controlled light to create feelings of presence and movement.