Light Nelson taking a year out to ‘regroup’.

Light Nelson, the city’s outdoor midwinter exhibition of light installations, is taking a year out to ‘regroup’.

Light Nelson Trust Chair Brian Riley said the decision not to stage the event until 2016 had been given a lot of thought and discussion by the trustees, it was made ‘regretfully’ and was based on the overwhelming turnout for this year’s Light Nelson in July.

“Our best guess for attendance this year was 10,000 people – in fact we had 40,000 which took us straight into year four of our ten year plan,” he said. “To give people the experience they expect and that we want to deliver, we need to grow the event, which means more money, more resources, more infrastructure and more time to plan.”

Riley said the trust is researching the potential to make Light Nelson a regular biennial event on the arts calendar, which would give artists more time to plan and create their installations.

“Obviously we’ve got a very successful event that has artistic integrity, innovation, is well supported by the public and attracts high-end visitors to Nelson in the off-season,” he said. “Taking it to the next level means doubling our budget, so we’re talking with our benefactors and major partners including the Nelson City Council.”

There are several ways the trust would like to see Light Nelson develop, Riley said. These include spreading the event out over more than one weekend, commissioning collaborative ‘anchor’ projects and extending the installations out of the Queen’s Gardens into the city and down a riverside promenade that might one day lead to the port and even out to Tahunanui,

“While we’re disappointed to call it off for next year, we’re totally committed to the future of Light Nelson as a signature midwinter event for the region, that inspires the local community and brings in the visitors.”

Riley said he had already spoken to key stakeholders and to the contractors who would be affected.

Anyone who wants to support Light Nelson can do so at the crowd funding site givealittle.co.nz, and potential sponsors and benefactors can contact Brian Riley at brianriley@lightnelson.org.nz .

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