Beam: Meet James Bawn, the man behind the light festival produced by Harrogate International Festivals

Bawn grew up in Huddersfield and his parents often took him to see shows. “They loved going to the theatre, but I didn’t want to be a performer I was always much more intrigued with what was happening backstage.

“At school when there was an end of year show or a Nativity play I had no interest in playing a part. I was intrigued by the guy at the back who was in charge of the lights and thankfully the teachers were happy for me to go and sit with him and watch and learn.”

He worked as a volunteer on numerous local am-dram productions before honing his skills further studying entertainment and technology (“basically a lighting and sound course”) at Oldham College. By this time he was already earning money from doing light shows at music festivals and gigs.

His work has taken him all over the world and in 2016 he set up Element 3 Design, based in Leeds, creating light events for everything from arts festivals and music tours to theatre productions and architectural installations.

“I’ve worked on projects all over the world, like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Palm Springs,” he says. He and his team have also worked on projects across the UK. “We’ve illuminated Emley Moor mast in the past and numerous town halls. I really enjoy architectural projects that involve buildings and sculptures.”

Which is why his latest project – transforming Harrogate town centre after dark – is right up his street. Beam is a major new light festival, produced by Harrogate International Festivals and supported by the Festival’s Future 50 fund, North Yorkshire Council, Visit North Yorkshire and Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID).

The free public event, which takes place on March 15 and 16, will see 10 of Harrogate’s most iconic buildings and green spaces transformed using lighting beams, projections and soundscapes.

Bawn, who has worked on several projects in the town including an art installation celebrating Harrogate’s spa history in 2019, was approached by Harrogate International Festivals about creating a light trail.

“There’s been various events and performances in the town that have used light and sound but nothing quite like this,” he says. “The architecture and history of Harrogate just lends itself perfectly to something like this because there’s some pretty fabulous architecture there. It’s not like a blank canvas where you’ve really got to dig deep to come up with something enticing and different. For me as a designer the ingredients are already there. With this project it’s more about highlighting and enhancing the stunning scenery.”

The aim is for people to saunter across Harrogate and to see the town in a fresh light. “We want to get people into the town centre and to walk around and enjoy its natural beauty. There’s lots of subtle use of lights and there’s also a lot of ‘wow’ moments as well,” he says.

“They are all unique and from a distance you will see each one highlighted in the sky. There is fun and play with these installations but you also have to respect your surroundings – you don’t want to turn the cenotaph into a disco. So I have tried to be sympathetic to the natural architecture.”

Crescent Gardens is one of the locations featured. “Here there’s a glass obelisk which has an iconic statue of Cupid and Psyche from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and we’re putting a circular array of searchlights around it along with a soundscape which will hopefully tie in this old story with modern technology.”

At the war memorial he’s creating something quieter and more reflective. “We’re illuminating the war memorial with narrow beam lights to create a solemn and dignified atmosphere that pays tribute to the sacrifices of those who served. These lights will be static and very subtle and reach right up to the clouds. We’ve also got 500 solar jars on the grass to create a kind of field of light which I think will really look special.”

Bawn says Harrogate’s rich history meant he was spoilt for choice when it came to deciding which locations to use. “There’s so much history – take the Victoria Shopping Centre for instance. The design was inspired by an Italian architect called Andrea Palladio from 450 years ago and I didn’t know that until I started working on this project. Then you have the Exchange building, which is much more modern, but there’s a little bit of history just around the corner at every site and it’s about celebrating this.’”

The project has been months in the planning culminating in the installation itself. So what does he hope visitors get from the experience? “If people can enjoy themselves, take a few nice photos and hopefully learn a little bit about some of the buildings and the history behind them, then that’s great. If it can also inspire anybody whether it’s musically or artistically to go ‘that’s really interesting’ then that would make me super happy. You never know there might be some five year old who gets taken along who thinks ‘wow, I want to do this someday’ like I did – that’s my absolute dream.”

Beam is a free event. It takes place across Harrogate town centre (dusk to 10pm) on March 15 and 16. For more information visit the Harrogate International Festivals website at www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com