Transforming Public Spaces Project is a one year programme of collaborations between artists in China and the UK to increase community awareness of public spaces and highlight the role art can play in shaping cities and thus transforming public spaces to improve the quality of life. Please click here to read more.

Free Entrance!

Flock
Shadows and lights Party
Experiencing between fantasy and reality
Performed by: KMA (UK)
Band: Lights and Sounds (UK)

7:30pm 18 Nov. 2009
Chongqing People’s Square
Renmin Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing

7:30pm 20 Nov. 2009
Chongqing Tiandi
800 meters west of the JiaHua Bridge, HuaLongQiao, YuZhong District, Chongqing

KMA

KMA is a collaboration between UK media artists Kit Monkman and Tom Wexler. Their work is primarily focussed on illuminating, encouraging, and developing, interactions between people in public spaces using projected light. Uniquely in the history of creative urban lighting, KMA choose to prioritise the illumination of people and their relationships over the lighting of buildings and edifices. Rejecting the historical notion of the citizen as a passive spectator, KMA’s work celebrates the dynamics of human movement rather than the facets of historic buildings. Inspired by Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Flock is a large-scale interactive public installation originally commissioned by the ICA with the support of the Royal Opera House that premiered in Trafalgar Square in February 2007.

Flock (a free event) created a “virtual Swan Lake” in the heart of the city where members of the public became “pedestrian performers” and embarked on a journey where fantasy and reality merged.

The Cultural and Education Section of British Consulate-General is proud to introduce the art work of KMA to the Chongqing public on both 18th and 20th of November. As the final event of the “Transforming Public Spaces” project, the Flock- shadows and lights party promises to be a brand new and mind blowing experience of artistic phenomenon and public space. Technology used by the artists detects a person’s presence and allocates each participant their own personal spotlight. Following the light they cast, each participant reveals a series of ghostly projections. These take participants on a journey through the real physical space and also the emotional narrative of the swans’ world.

Lights and Sounds

Lights and Sounds are one of the most exciting young bands on the current UK musical scene, causing a big stir with their incredible song writing and emphatic live shows. Formed in February '07, they have already played and toured with groups such as Metro Station, Calvin Harris, The Script, HelloGoodbye, Melee, One Night Only and Meg & Dia in the UK. Word seems to be spreading fast about this fresh and inspiring band as they have already racked up over one million plays on their ‘myspace’ site. As bright, young commanders of a brand of unique 'indie-pop', their sound is built around pumping piano, acoustic golden pop melodies, lullabic vocals and shimmery instrumentation. Lights and Sounds debut EP, ‘Feels Like Gold,’ is out now and available from iTunes and shows.

Lights and Sounds will perform at Chongqing Tiandi on 20 Nov. 2009.