LIGHTS OUT Bob & Roberta Smith, BELFAST

PUBLIC INVITED TO ILLUMINATE ARTWORK IN WW1 COMMEMORATION

‘What unites human beings, ears, eyes, loves, hopes and toes is huge and wonderful.  What divides human beings is small and mean.’

An artwork by one of the UK’s best known artists, Bob and Roberta Smith, will be installed on the East Lawn at Belfast City Hall on Monday 4th August to mark the hour, 100 years ago, in which the First World War began.

Bob and Roberta Smith is one of four leading international artists commissioned by 14-18 NOW, the cultural programme for the WW1 Centenary commemorations, to create striking public artworks in Belfast, Edinburgh, Bangor (Wales) and London, as focal points for LIGHTS OUT.

LIGHTS OUT is an invitation to every building, every business and every community member in the UK to turn off their lights from 10pm until 11pm on 4th August, leaving on a single light or candle for this shared moment of reflection

Bob and Roberta Smith’s new work for LIGHTS OUT is a statement taken from the artist’s LETTER TO AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER: ‘What unites human beings, ears, eyes, loves, hopes and toes is huge and wonderful.  What divides human beings is small and mean.’ The statement will form a luminous installation at City Hall, using letters designed and constructed together with local artists and community groups.

The artwork will be available to view from 6pm on 4th August at Belfast City Hall. Each letter of the statement accommodates a set of candles and at 10pm on Monday 4th August, the people of Belfast and beyond are invited to illuminate the artwork by candlelight in a moment of shared reflection.

Commenting Bob and Roberta Smith said: “I think that the common goals humanity aims for, love, peace and well-being, outweigh the things that divide us. The famous football match on Christmas day 1914 between Germans and allied troops enjoying sport together is emblematic of this feeling.”

The work is produced locally on the artist’s behalf by project managers Kim McAleese and Stephen Hackett.  As Kim McAleese explained, the groups who designed and constructed the letters for the artwork are from a diverse range of backgrounds:

“The letters which form the statement are produced on 60x60cm plywood and are being created in a series of workshops across Belfast throughout the month of July.  The workshop participants are reflective of the increasingly diverse nature of the population of Northern Ireland and span age, creed and ethnicity to deliver a powerful and universal message.”

Belfast’s Lord Mayor, Nicola Mallon, said City Hall’s East Lawn is a most appropriate site for the installation of the work.“This is an ideal location for the public to engage with this commemoration and use the shared space to have quiet reflection,” she added.

Jenny Waldman, Director of 14-18 NOW, said: "It is inspiring to see how artists and arts organisations in Northern Ireland are responding to the invitation to reflect on the centenary of the outbreak of the war.  They are seizing this opportunity to create powerful new works and 14-18 NOW is delighted to collaborate with them all."

This year, the 14-18 NOW programme in Northern Ireland includes Blood by Lemn Sissay at the Verbal Arts Centre in Derry-Londonderry, and At Times Like These Men Were Wishing They Were all Kinds of Insects by Graham Gingles at The MAC in Belfast. Everyone across Northern Ireland can participate by writing a Letter to an Unknown Soldier at www.1418now.org.uk/letter, and visit Bob and Roberta Smith's Lights Out commission at Belfast City Hall while businesses and homes everywhere are invited to turn out their lights and illuminate a single window between 10 and 11pm on 4th August to mark the moment we entered the War.

Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller has created an original LIGHTS OUT digital artwork in the form of an app, which anyone can download for free.

For more information about LIGHTS OUT and to find LIGHTS OUT events in your local area go to: www.1418NOW.org.uk/lightsout

ENDSPress enquiriesLyn Sheridan or Caroline Murphy at Aiken PRTel: 028 90663000 mobile 07770584157 / 07501250892lyn@aikenpr.com  / caroline@aikenpr.com

Notes to editorsAbout Bob & Roberta SmithBob and Roberta Smith is the name of a British contemporary artist, writer, author, musician, art education advocate and keynote speaker.  Seeing art as an important element in democratic life, much of his art takes the form of painted signs which advocate the arts to Government.Groups participating in workshops: Age NI, ArtsEkta, Cara-Friend, Cliftonville Community Regeneration Forum, Golden Thread Gallery, Lyric Theatre Summer School, The Action Ability, Wallace High School

About LIGHTS OUTEveryone in the UK is invited to take part in LIGHTS OUT by turning off their lights from 10pm to 11pm on 4 August, leaving on a single light or candle for a shared moment of reflection.   People can take part in whatever way they chose, marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War either individually or by attending one of the many events being organised around the country for a collective experience.

The project is being organised by 14-18 NOW, the official cultural programme for the First World War Centenary Commemorations.

The inspiration for LIGHTS OUT comes from a famous remark made on the eve of the outbreak of war by the then Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey: “The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our life-time”. Britain declared war on Germany at 11pm on 4 August 1914 ushering in one of the darkest periods in our history.Millions of people are expected to participate in LIGHTS OUT and hundreds of local authorities, iconic buildings, national organisations including the BBC and the Royal British Legion, parish councils and places of worship have already pledged their support. Iconic buildings such as Blackpool Illuminations, the Houses of Parliament, Eden Project, the Imperial War Museums and Tower Bridge will turn off their lights.  The Royal British Legion has launched a campaign for at least one million candles to be lit across the nation and theatre productions across the UK will invite their audiences to join in a LIGHTS OUT moment after their last curtain call that evening.

LIGHTS OUT complements the candlelit vigil service to be held in Westminster Abbey from 10pm to 11pm on 4th August.

The 14-18 NOW programme is funded by £10 million granted from the National Lottery including The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Arts Council England (ACE) which are contributing £5million each.

First World War Centenary Partnership Programme14-18 NOW is a member of the First World War Centenary Partnership and an independent programme hosted within Imperial War Museums.

The First World War Centenary Partnership was established by IWM (Imperial War Museums) in 2010 and to date has over 2,500 members from across 45 countries. The Partnership is presenting a collective programme of activities and events to mark the centenary, developed at grass roots levels. This diverse and far-reaching programme has been developed to reflect how people want to remember, commemorate and debate the conflict in their own communities, in a way that is meaningful for them. 1914.org is the official website for the First World War Centenary Partnership. Throughout the centenary new events and activities will be added each week to the events calendar, produced in partnership with Culture 24.

Full details of the 14-18 NOW programme including LIGHTS OUT can be found at http://www.1418now.org.uk/

Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) aims to make a lasting difference for heritage, people and communities across the UK and help build a resilient heritage economy.  HLF has supported over 36,000 projects with £6bn across the UK www.hlf.org.uk 

Centenary Plans for Northern IrelandIn Northern Ireland, the First World War Centenary Committee under the Chairmanship of Jeffrey Donaldson MP has been putting in place their arrangements. The twin themes for the centenary period in Northern Ireland will be 'Remembrance and Reconciliation'.  Plans are in place for a special service in Belfast Cathedral on 4th August 2014 to mark the outbreak of the war and this will be followed by a candlelight vigil at the cenotaph at Belfast City Hall.  In 2015 the focus will be on Gallipoli and the role of soldiers from Ireland in that battle. 2016 will centre on two major events - the Battle of Jutland with the last remaining battleship from that encounter, HMS Caroline being permanently based in Belfast and presently undergoing major restoration. 1st July 2016 will undoubtedly be the largest of all the commemorative events in Northern Ireland, with the 36th Ulster Division having sustained heavy losses on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. There will be a special service in Belfast Cathedral and in the evening a military tattoo will be held in Enniskillen Castle. In 2017 there are plans for a joint commemorative event with the Republic of Ireland to mark the Battle of Messines in which soldiers from both parts of Ireland fought side by side. The commemorative period will draw to a close on Armistice Day 2018 with services across Northern Ireland to mark the end of the war.