Led by Queen’s Hall Arts, Illuminated Sheep is a visual arts trail that first lit up Northumberland to celebrate the arrival of the Lindisfarne Gospels in the North East in the autumn of 2022.
This September, Illuminated Sheep returns to Northumberland as the famous flock form a NEW Art Trail from the East to West of Hadrian’s Wall.
From Maryport to Arbeia, the flock will separate and will be looked after and customised by community champions, businesses and organisations.
At the end of the Art Trail Along Hadrian's Wall, the Illuminated Sheep will shed their costumes, gather as a full flock and appear as an artwork during October.
Find out where you can #FindTheFlock on their 2024 urban adventure.
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Illuminated Sheep by artist Deepa Mann-Kler was inspired by the Lindisfarne's Gospels’ themes of light and pilgrimage, and has since seen our flock of life-sized sheep lit up in bright colours at some of the region’s most iconic locations including Alnwick Garden, Bamburgh Castle, Hexham Abbey, Vindolanda and Woodhorn Museum as well as further from home at the Bradford is Lit light festival.
Artist Deepa Mann-Kler and our Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Katy Taylor explain more about the project from the stunning location of Bamburgh Castle at the official launch of the project back in September 2022.
After first full flock outings in 2022, individual sheep were then auctioned off at Hexham Mart, adopted and customised by local communities across the county to create a free Art Trail before the flock were rounded up for a final gathering at Festival of Flame: Illuminate at Hexham Abbey.
Almost 280,000 people engaged with the project.
Illuminated Sheep was commissioned by Northumberland County Council and developed and managed by Queen’s Hall Arts and the Hexham Culture Network. It was part of the Cultural Programme of Hexham High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) and funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority, now the new North East Combined Authority.
This video outlines the impact the project had on the communites that adopted the sheep. It was filmed when the flock was gathered back together at the Festival of Flame:
