Welcome to a World of Colour and Light!
Luminarium - Architects of Air by Alan Parkinson
will have its British Columbia Debut
at Ha Ha Ha Kidzfest!
June 5-8, 2025 Okanagan Lake Park, Penticton, BC
Tickets on sale April 1, 2025
Luminarium Only: $8/person (online, in advance); $10/person (at gate)
Purchase your COMBO TICKET to enjoy the Luminarium and Kidzfest performances & activities.
Combo: $15/person (online, in advance); $17/person (at gate)
Experience a sense of wonder as you wander the of winding paths and soaring domes where Islamic architecture, Archimedean solids and Gothic cathedrals meld into an inspiring monument to the beauty of light and colour, and where visitors can happily loose themselves.
The installation awakens all the senses, creating a sense of wonder and enchantment for all ages. Visitors are transported and immersed into an amazing world of light and subtle and saturated hues, for a unique sensory experience, and brings visual art in places where you wouldn’t expect it.
Become part of the artwork. A luminarium can be enjoyed in a solitary way, but the value of the experience is heightened by sharing the space with others. The other visitors and you yourself become actors – part of a living sculpture.
This luminarium is fully accessible to wheelchairs and walkers, giving guests of every age and ability the opportunity to explore and become part of this community experience. The public participate in the creation of the luminarium by being in the artwork - the luminarium object itself is one part of the artwork. The other part is completed by our visitors, by how they move and interact in the space.
Since 1992 Architects of Air, a Nottingham based company, has built 21 luminaria, made over 600 exhibitions, and toured in 43 countries where over 3 million visitors have immersed themselves in the luminous world of Architects of Air. Alan Parkinson’s intention is to stimulate visitors to a sense of wonder to the beauty of light and colour, and create an environment where the visitors experience is influenced by their own relation to space. Alan describes his intention as an ‘Architect of Air’ in the following terms:
“What motivates me to design is the fact that I continue to be struck by the beauty of light and colour found in the luminaria. These structures nurture an awareness of a pure phenomenon that gently cuts through everyday conditioned perceptions and awakens a sense of wonder in people.”
Arborialis has the natural world for inspiration. Immersion in an arboreal world of tree-like forms and abundant leaf motifs. Arborialis’s aural experience is an immersion in a world of natural sounds that is a homage to the Celtic goddess Danu. Arborialis is dedicated to the theme of ‘trees’ in terms of both forms and in graphic representation.
Arborialis is designed to echo aspects of being lost in a forest – there are radiant canopies of leaves that stretch overhead, there are vibrant tree trunks rising from the ground beneath. The Main Dome frames the leaf motif in a magnificent cupola that references the form of the Islamic mosque domes that are one of Alan Parkinson’s primary sources of inspiration. The visual world of Arborialis is enhanced by the natural and spiritual sounds of the Song of Danu created by Irish composer Dr Michael Morris.
Photo credits to Jane Barlow, John Owens and Alan Parkinson.
