Limelight: Saturday night, 2010-2011

Sans façon - Glasgow, UK

Installation

Limelight: Saturday night is a simple intervention which replaces two streetlights with theatre spotlights, instantly transforming the street into a stage, and passers-by into performers, somewhere between spectacle and surveillance. This intentionally subtle alteration suggests the latent potential of public realm as a place of interaction and celebration, offering an alternative approach to city's lighting as more than securitarian.

In 2010, in six cities across the UK and America, sidewalks were turned into impromptu stages by turning streetlights into theatre spotlights. The spotlight attracted the young and the old, solo performers and couples, families and folks out for a night out. Some avoided the limelight, whilst others bathed in it whole-heartedly. Performances were spontaneous, surprising, and often quite touching. They ranged from the hilarious, the tipsy, the tender and the skillful but above all the romantics hogged the light. Displays included all manner of dance moves, from graceful stag leaps to the robot dance, serenades and passionate canoodling. Toronto is now welcoming Limelight: Saturday night. In 2011 the piece visited Gaborone (Botswana), and is set to travel to Miami, Berlin, Prague, Istanbul and Buenos Aires.  

Sans façon formed 10 years ago as a collaborative art practice between an English artist, Tristan Surtees and a French architect, Charles Blanc. Their work aims to question places and invites a renewed outlook at everyday situations. This approach has been developed through projects ranging from art interventions to city wide strategies.

Suitable for all ages