We are standing outside, on a chilly Sunday evening, waiting for the doors of St. Peter’s to open to Bright City. As we are let in, we are immediately welcomed and given a drink – everyone is so kind, and this is something I can’t stress enough. This event has the friendliest atmosphere and to see so many people brought together through shared creativity is heart-warming.
Bright City invited us into their world through art, dance, film and music… and I loved being a part of it.
Bright City is a strand of St. Peter’s made up of creatives. It was formed around three years ago to give the young artists a place to express themselves. The event is an open-house style that showcases the talent of the group, through a mixture of mediums. The church is beautiful and its high ceiling allowed natural light to stream in and fill the open space. St Peter's is a brilliant combination of old and new; the technological modifications, such as their rigged lighting and screens, which showcased wonderful short films, were sensitively built around the architecture, allowing its organic beauty to remain unaffected.
It was so lovely to see the event put together by everyone from the church. In fact, what I saw was an incredible sense of community. There were flats constructed, which exhibited different forms of artwork. I particularly enjoyed Elle-Anna Limebear’s The Corner Project, which was a photography collection of assorted things often considered, as she described, “mundane”. The composition was well thought out, and her photographic eye was stunning. I also loved Lydia Fisher’s typography. Her colourful words and unique style stood out to me; although all of the art I saw was of a high standard.
The music at Bright City was not to be missed. Three musicians, part of the Bright City Collective, used a loop pedal to play tracks from their instrumental album Still, Vol. 2 (Instrumentals), which is available to buy at the event but can also be streamed online. I’d describe their sound as low-fi; it was very chilled which added the relaxed atmosphere. Whilst they performed, short films celebrating Brighton were projected above them. The film-maker, Zach Lower, took clips from all around the city which he’d mirrored and then collapsed in order to create unique videos; he has an amazing talent for cinematography.
Bright City invited us into their world through art, dance, film and music… and I loved being a part of it.
