Salford Civic Centre to be transformed into huge outdoor art installation

Salford City Council has announced Swinton Ark, a spectacular free-to-attend animated projection that will celebrate the town through memories and stories from local people.

The installation will appear on the side of Salford Civic Centre (formerly Swinton & Pendlebury Town Hall) on Thu 16 Jan & Fri 18 Jan from 5pm – 8pm.

Created by projection artists Illuminos, this unique sound and light show features personal stories gathered by local artist Lowri Evans, who asked a wide range of people around Swinton ‘if you could save one object, what would it be?’

The entirety of the former town hall building’s 70-metre facade will come alive with 3d mapped animation, music and sound.

The building’s Chorley Road frontage will be transformed into the Ark; a vast and gleaming vessel of wood and glass. Contained within it are the objects, moments and memories of residents, precious markers of events, times, and places.

One by one these elements will take centre stage as their stories are told, tumbling out of the Ark to form magical memories on a grand scale. A bike, a wedding ring, boxes of letters, a little straw chair, and feet dangled in a fountain; these and many more weave together in a dance of Swinton’s past, present and future.

The family-friendly 12-minute projection will run every fifteen minutes for just over three hours, with the building in constant animated motion, so you can drop in and enjoy it for free whenever you like.

Projection artists Illuninos say: “We are very excited to be creating this bespoke, one-of-a-kind projection artwork in Swinton.  Using ideas around those precious things we might save in a flood, we were able to dive into the lives of Swinton’s residents, weaving a tapestry of moments drawn from their lives, entirely specific to the town and on a grand scale.  The town hall will become Swinton Ark, and we can’t wait for you to join us on its voyage.”

Artist, Lowri Evans, says: “Finding out what belongings were precious to people I bumped into was a great way to find out about them and their lives, and what they value. Most things people cherished weren’t their most expensive things, but objects with meaning or memories attached. 

“I took a cart around different sites in Swinton with some objects of my own to get people talking. Over fifty people stopped by and took time to contribute to the project, and many of their stories are featured within Swinton Ark.”