Salford named partner in once-in-a-lifetime festival of creativity

Announced today, UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is a groundbreaking celebration of creativity taking place across the UK in 2022, designed to reach millions and bring people together. It features free, large-scale events, installations and globally accessible digital experiences in the UK’s most ambitious showcase of creative collaboration.

Created by some of the brightest minds in science, technology, engineering, arts and maths, UNBOXED features ten major, multi-site and digital creative projects that share new ideas and possibilities for the future. Events take place in towns, cities and rural areas, from the Outer Hebrides to Dover and from Omagh to Swansea, and across traditional and online media from 1 March to 2 October 2022.

Green Space Dark Skies invites 20,000 people, from all paths in life, to make a journey into the landscape together. There, we will illuminate wild and beautiful places across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as dusk falls. Open to all, each mass gathering celebrates nature, our responsibility to protect it and everyone’s right to explore the countryside. 

Led by outdoor arts pioneers Walk the Plank, Green Space Dark Skies takes place from April to September. Over six months, thousands of people will become Lumenators, carrying special lights designed by Siemens at up to 20 different secret locations. There, we will create art outdoors, recorded by film and photography.

Green Space Dark Skies is led by Walk the Plank working in collaboration with technology company Siemens, the University of Salford, National Parks UK and Landscapes for Life: the National Association of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty who are responsible for the management of the project’s event sites; and working with diverse artists and creative collaborators in different locations, including integrated circus company Extraordinary Bodies, the collaboration between Diverse City and Cirque Bijou; and film production company CC-Lab.

Speaking of the University of Salford’s contribution, Sam Ingleson, Associate Dean: Engagement, Enterprise and Partnerships in the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology, said: “We plan to take a very interdisciplinary approach, with each school playing a vital role. The partnership with Green Space Dark Skies will engage the whole academic community, from undergraduate and postgraduate students to PhD candidates and academic research staff.”

The partnership has the potential to offer up to 500 student experiences through live briefs, placements and extra curricula opportunities that benefit the student experience.