Karbon Homes is an event supporter of Lumiere 2025, the UK’s landmark light art biennial in Durham. Contributing £5,000 to the spectacular public art multi-installation, we have sponsored creative community workshops aiming to tackle social isolation and encourage community cohesion.
Artichoke, a leading UK arts producer who believes in the transformative power of art, has been running workshops with Karbon across Stanley where we own around a third of all homes. Over 400 lanterns created across the workshops form this year’s new community artwork for Lumiere’s lantern project Glimmer.
One workshop in Consett welcomed Silver Friends service users, where they created lanterns with meaningful messages for the Glimmer installation. Silver Friends is Karbon's in-person befriending service which helps people connect face to face at social events in community venues across North Durham.
Over one third of Karbon’s homes are in County Durham and thousands of our customers live on the doorstep of Durham’s city. Christine Fletcher, our Silver Friends Coordinator, explains: “Lumiere brings our communities together and provides a social connection, much like our work at Silver Friends. We know how cultural experiences improve people’s well-being, so we are thrilled to support Lumiere.
"Involvement in these creative workshops led by Artichoke has helped many people increase their self-confidence and encourage community spirit. It’s been lovely to hear the chatter and laughter and see so many smiling faces in our workshop sessions.
“I’m from Durham myself and I’ve been to every Lumiere since it started in 2009. It’s more than light – it’s ART at every turn, in normally dark spaces and in the most unexpected places."
The aim of Glimmer is to bring together voices from all ages and backgrounds, offering an insight into the lives of the Durham community. Inspiration for the workshops came from the artwork Solace, by Amelia Kosminsky, which will feature in Durham Cathedral Cloisters.
Beth King, Artichoke’s Learning and Participation Manager, shares: “We're always looking for opportunities to connect with local people we haven't before, and we found that Karbon was a great partnership for us to work with groups we hadn't before for our lantern programme. The groups we've been working with might not have been previously introduced to Lumiere or able to get creative like this before.
“We wanted the lantern-making to be accessible for any age and a way for people to express themselves, and Karbon really helped us reach those who would get the most out of the programme. It's wonderful seeing the pride in people having created a piece of art for an international, community festival.”
The lantern workshops have been held at a range of venues in Stanley, including PACT House, a community hub, and Just for Women, a community support service centre. Lanterns created by the community groups will be displayed at Crook Hall and Shildon Locomotion.
Lumiere is produced by Artichoke and commissioned by Durham County Council, with support from Arts Council England and North East Combined Authority. Glimmer is commissioned by Point North, a community foundation in the North East.
Read Christine’s full blog about why she love’s Lumiere: Lumiere Festival Behind the Light: Meet the Lumiere Supporters – Karbon Homes.
Karbon Homes is an event supporter of Lumiere 2025, the UK’s landmark light art biennial in Durham. Contributing £5,000 to the spectacular public art multi-installation, we have sponsored creative community workshops aiming to tackle social isolation and encourage community cohesion.
Artichoke, a leading UK arts producer who believes in the transformative power of art, has been running workshops with Karbon across Stanley where we own around a third of all homes. Over 400 lanterns created across the workshops form this year’s new community artwork for Lumiere’s lantern project Glimmer.
One workshop in Consett welcomed Silver Friends service users, where they created lanterns with meaningful messages for the Glimmer installation. Silver Friends is Karbon's in-person befriending service which helps people connect face to face at social events in community venues across North Durham.
Over one third of Karbon’s homes are in County Durham and thousands of our customers live on the doorstep of Durham’s city. Christine Fletcher, our Silver Friends Coordinator, explains: “Lumiere brings our communities together and provides a social connection, much like our work at Silver Friends. We know how cultural experiences improve people’s well-being, so we are thrilled to support Lumiere.
"Involvement in these creative workshops led by Artichoke has helped many people increase their self-confidence and encourage community spirit. It’s been lovely to hear the chatter and laughter and see so many smiling faces in our workshop sessions.
“I’m from Durham myself and I’ve been to every Lumiere since it started in 2009. It’s more than light – it’s ART at every turn, in normally dark spaces and in the most unexpected places."
The aim of Glimmer is to bring together voices from all ages and backgrounds, offering an insight into the lives of the Durham community. Inspiration for the workshops came from the artwork Solace, by Amelia Kosminsky, which will feature in Durham Cathedral Cloisters.
Beth King, Artichoke’s Learning and Participation Manager, shares: “We're always looking for opportunities to connect with local people we haven't before, and we found that Karbon was a great partnership for us to work with groups we hadn't before for our lantern programme. The groups we've been working with might not have been previously introduced to Lumiere or able to get creative like this before.
“We wanted the lantern-making to be accessible for any age and a way for people to express themselves, and Karbon really helped us reach those who would get the most out of the programme. It's wonderful seeing the pride in people having created a piece of art for an international, community festival.”
The lantern workshops have been held at a range of venues in Stanley, including PACT House, a community hub, and Just for Women, a community support service centre. Lanterns created by the community groups will be displayed at Crook Hall and Shildon Locomotion.
Lumiere is produced by Artichoke and commissioned by Durham County Council, with support from Arts Council England and North East Combined Authority. Glimmer is commissioned by Point North, a community foundation in the North East.
Read Christine’s full blog about why she love’s Lumiere: Lumiere Festival Behind the Light: Meet the Lumiere Supporters – Karbon Homes.
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