Give Wellington's poles an LED make-over

It’s not every day you get the chance to fling lights around and watch blank metal lamp posts be colonised by multi-coloured glow worms.

This Friday night, Wellingtonians are invited to give this a whirl as part of the Wellington Lux mini-light festival.

From 7pm onwards, you can make your own “LED throwie”: a simple combination of coloured LED light, magnet and battery. Assembly is simple enough for children, and there will be plenty of bright colours to choose from. Each “throwie” will cost $2, to cover materials.

The event is the brainchild of Chris Bennewith, Massey University’s College of Creative Arts Assistant Pro Vice-Chancellor Enterprise. He is also a member of the interactive digital art collective, Squidsoup (UK, Norway, New Zealand), whose work is projected onto the side of Te Papa.

“Part of the fun of a light festival is that you can get physically involved and help create the artwork yourself. We have hundreds of throwies for families to make. It’ll be intriguing seeing the posts brighten up in random patterns as more and more throwies get stuck to them.”

Wellington Lux is brought to the city by Massey University, Storybox and the Wellington City Council. This year’s mini-festival is a “proof of concept” for a fully-fledged light festival next year, says Associate Professor Bennewith.

“I think people are starting to get the hang of Lux. After the dark of winter, we naturally gravitate to the light and colour. People are gathering, chatting, trying things, working out how the artworks operate, and generally having a lot of fun. Already we’ve got works of international calibre that most New Zealanders would never otherwise get the chance to interact with.”

Throwies Event Details:
Friday September 7
From 7 pm
Odlins Plaza, outside St John’s Bar
Cost: $2 per throwies
Weather permitting