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Lights in Alingsås proudly presents: Children's Park of the Future

The Lights in Alingsås festival 2015 proudly presents a new element for children: the Children's Park of the Future, in collaboration with KomTek Alingsås. The Children's Park of the Future project involves a series of workshops on the theme of the future, and will take place in local nursery schools and after-school centres up until 19 September.

    - We didn't hesitate when Henrik Blennow and the festival Project Manager, Angelica Larsson, contacted us. KomTek is an organisation working to making technology a natural part of teaching in Alingsås schools. This year's theme is perfect for school children and taps into the curiosity and innovation.The Children's Park of the Future project takes up all the issues we must resolve in the future - including those of energy and the environment - and their associated opportunities and solutions, says Cecilia Kleväng, Coordinator at KomTek Alingsås.

Between five hundred and a thousand children will attend these workshops, and will be able to create their own works of art.The children's mini-installations will then be displayed in Järtas Park during the Lights in Alingsås festival.

    - As creative project leader, my passion is to unite philosophy, art, creativity, and technology. That's the way we'll find solutions to problems of the future. And if anybody is creative - it's children. Children are the future and so are part of the solution," says Henrik Blennow, one of the initiators of the Children’s Park of the Future, coordiantor of Maker Camp and creator of “the tree” (www.thetr.ee).

And Henrik adds:

    - It is not me who's going to be a creator in the future - it's the kids.

Children are our future

New for this year is also "Brilliant Children" - a play area to be built in Järtas Park, where Malin Wallin, designer and drama teacher, will create a space for creativity and play for all children.Malin Wallin herself describes the vision she wants to create on the stage:

"The children have gathered by the trees and the little house. They've started the game and invite others to join in. The light tells stories and the house starts to dance. The game starts and everybody can join in. Everyone can be part of the story of light - from the past into the future - from a child's heart out into the world".

The new Children's Park of the Future forms part of the increasingly popular stretch of the light trail, Children's Lights, which has been an element in the festival for the last three years. In 2013 a treasure hunt was held in the park and in 2014 children had the chance to solve a (light !) detective mystery with Susanne MacFie. This year, we're daring to tackle the theme of the future. The festival's theme for 2015 is the Evolution of Light, and the Children's Park of the Future is a part of it. The installations the children will create will express their ideas about the future - their hopes and imaginings.

    - We are passionate about Alingsås, and every development that makes it a better place to live has our whole-hearted support.Brilliant Children, Children's Park of the Future and A Light Night for Children are exciting new elements in this year's light festival. As main sponsor of Lights in Alingsås, we are extremely pleased with this year's children's programme, says Klas Frisk, from Sparbanken Alingsås.

More about the work behind the children's programme

Up to ten nursery schools and after-school centres are taking part, contributing between them up to one thousand young participants.Hopefully, a similar number of light-related works of art will have been created before 19 September. Every year KomTecsh hold a week-long creative event and this year, from 19 to 26 September, the children's mini-installations, expressing their ideas about the future, will be displayed in Järtas Park.

But there's more...... Creativity Week will begin with the installation of a wooden piece, thetr.ee, as part of an art project of the same name.At the same time, wiring and technical installation will get under way in Järtas Park. The goal is a creative and playful display of children's "lightworks" which will then grow and become bigger as more are added, day by day.

    - A couple of the key aspects of the Lights in Alingsås festival are development and innovation and it’s important that we work with them – although they’re fun subjects too. New discoveries and developments arise naturally from children's wish to learn and experiment. And of course, children are our future," adds Angelika Larsson, Project Manager of Lights in Alingsås.

Some information

The light installation in the Children's Park of the Future is planned and led by: Einar Boson, Emma Macintosh, Bella Ghajavand and Henrik Blennow. The technological solutions are created in a "Maker camp" in Åmanska Park.

The idea for the Children's Park of the Future emerged from a meeting between Henrik Blennow and Angelica Larsson in March at the Estrad conference centre, Alingsås. Among other things, Henrik runs the art project thetr.ee (www.thetr.ee) and MakerMobile - "Venue on Wheels for Makers". Einar Boson, Emma Macintosh and Bella Ghajavand also work with the MakerMobile, and will also have significant roles to play in the creation of the Children's Park of the Future. Angelica Larsson from the Estrad Conference Centre, the Project Manager ofLights in Alingsås, invited Cecilia Kleväng from KomTech i Alingsås to act as coordinator for nursery schools and children's after-school activities.

Lights in Alingsås runs between 25 September and 1 November 2015.


For more information, please contact:

Angelica Larsson, Project Manager, Lights in Alingsås
Tel. +46 (0) 707 780 08 54

Henrik Blennow, thetr.ee (www.thetr.ee) and MakerMobile

Tel. +46 (0)768 -76 32 61blennow@gmail.com

Klas Frisk, Sponsor representative: Sparbanken Alingsås
Tel. +46 (0) 322 - 786 56

Malin Wallin, designer and drama teacher

Tel. +46 (0) 734 34 44 71

Cecilia Kleväng, Coordinator, Komtek

Tel. +46 (0)734-15 49 91

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  • Alingsås

About Lights in Alingsås

Every October since the year 2000, leading lighting designers have been invited to Alingsås to demonstrate their expertise. For five weeks, dar evenings and outdoor environments are turned into fascinating and exciting lighting installations. Cold, anonymous facades are transformed into warm and colorful spaces, forest lakes can get a whole new perspective, and these oases of light provide new attractive venues in the town.

Lights in Alingsås attracts more than 85 000 visitors every year and the urban lighting exhibition has become the largest lighting event in public spaces in Northern Europe. Lights in Alingsås is an important meeting point for lighting designers, students and professionals who work with light. The owner of the project is the municipality of Alingsås, who make the project possible through partners such as Sparbanken Alingsås, Alingsås Energi, FABS and Alingsåshem.