Scots invited to create breathtaking artworks across iconic Scottish landscapes

The events will take place in some of the country's most stunning locations including the Cairngorms National Park. The events will bring together local communities to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience in each place which will be captured on film.

The gatherings will be created at dusk by local participants, referred to as Lumenators. They will be guided along pathways or waterways carrying smart lights that will enable digital choreography captured on film, while also being sensitive to the night-time environment.

Each short film will incorporate the stories of the people and places featured and will be broadcast online after the event. Lumenators will also be encouraged to share their own connections to the landscape and the local areas as part of their involvement.

To protect these amazing places, the exact locations will only be revealed to the people who are taking part. There will be no spectators, but anyone can take part for free as long as they sign up in advance.

As well as collaborating with cultural partners including Visit Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022, event producer, Walk the Plank is working directly with the authorities who are responsible for the conservation of each location to create the events for Green Space Dark Skies.

Green Space Dark Skies will enable people from all walks of life to forge new connections with the countryside by supporting those who face cultural and physical barriers to experience our iconic landscapes. The series of gatherings will celebrate the countryside as well as encouraging our responsibility to take care of it for future generations.

Keren McKean, Walk the Plank’s Producer for Scotland said: “Scotland’s landscapes are rich, unique and diverse. The country’s dramatic backdrop is globally recognised and attracts over 10 million tourists per year, but often local people and people from particular communities can feel like the great outdoors isn’t for them. Green Space Dark Skies is about engaging with communities and encouraging people to feel connected to the land, to enjoy it and to protect it.”

The Green Space Dark Skies team is working with Dark Skies representatives in many locations to explore how the project might highlight the value of minimising light pollution in our towns, cities and rural landscapes to support wildlife to flourish.

Martin Green CBE, Chief Creative Officer of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK said: “UNBOXED is the result of collaborations across science, technology, engineering, arts and maths that share an ambition to find new solutions and present optimistic ideas for the future.

“Green Space Dark Skies perfectly demonstrates the innovation and creativity seen throughout the UNBOXED projects. By bringing together artists, engineers and members of the public in the creation of unique experiences, it will enhance people’s understanding of our natural environment and relationship to countryside and show the power of creativity to bring about change.”

Grant Moir, Chief Executive of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, said: “We are delighted to welcome Green Space Dark Skies to the UK’s largest national park here in the Cairngorms. The project promises to create a unique spectacle celebrating nature, our responsibility to protect it and everyone’s right to explore the countryside.

“As a National Park open to all we are particularly pleased that the organisers are reaching out to such a diverse range of participants, and it is great to see an event of this scale aiming to make a net positive contribution to our collective carbon reduction targets.”

The event at the Cairngorms National Park will take place in August with more locations to be announced soon.