How many people does it take to change a lightbulb at Durham Lumiere? Midnight feasts, 35,000 daily step counts and the importance of kindness

This month, we explore what it takes to produce Lumiere with three dedicated and passionate people who developed their careers in the arts via the Lumiere project trainee scheme

Lumiere is back in Durham this November

Open to people living in the North-East, the Lumiere project trainee scheme offers a paid opportunity for those people who are interested in working in the arts to gain valuable experience, and has run in Durham since 2011.

With the scheme running across ten days, including over the four nights of the Lumiere live event, project trainees make a vital contribution to the festival.

Heather first came to work as a project trainee at Lumiere 2017, returning to stage manage Keys of Light in 2019.

Both experiences, said Heather, “were such brilliant work highlights for me.”

Heather now works at Jazz North as programme manager, working with artists and promoters across the north of England. She said: “Working at Lumiere was a huge help toward me gaining a job at Sage Gateshead. It’s so rare to have this kind of training for those wanting to go into event planning.”

Keys of Light, Mr Beam, at Lumiere Durham 2019

Similarly, Lee, who graduated in music production from Northumbria University in 2019, got a job as creative technician at a further education college in the North-East after his stint as a project trainee in 2019

He said: “The knowledge I gained and the confidence I developed from my role at Lumiere was amazing.”

James was passionate about art, and worked at a Durham theatre before applying to be a project trainee. He said: “When I heard of this opportunity for local people, I jumped at the chance. The experience proved to be even more than I hoped for.”

Since working on Lumiere, James has continued to develop his own art practice, most recently producing an illustrated written version of an audio Christmas theatre production and refurbishing an arts building. It has not been an easy time to gain full-time employment in the arts, but James says that his experience on Lumiere has made him determined to keep trying.

For Heather, one of the most valuable parts of her experience was, “getting to see the scale of what it takes to put something like this together. Understanding the size of the team, the hours of volunteer work and how much time, passion, and attention to detail goes into the event was a brilliant lesson.”

What Matters by Shuster & Moseley, part of Lumiere Durham 2017, produced by Artichoke and commissioned by Durham County Council Picture: Matthew Andrews

Lee highlighted the breadth of work he was able to contribute to and said: “I assisted the producers of the festival with anything I could – thinking through last minute logistics, installing artworks shown at the festival, artist liaison.”

But for him, the greatest lesson was more universal: “Kindness is key. Everyone working on Lumiere was lovely. Working in such a field is bound to have stressful moments, and it is hard work, but the fact that all from Artichoke and the contractors being nice people made it that much better.”

All three of the past trainees speak with pride and passion about the contribution they made to producing specific artworks.

Heather said: “Being up in the bell tower of Durham Cathedral for Methods is a particularly memorable moment, as well when we finished assembling the huge piece of work that was What Matters, slowly raising the truss to the ceiling, detangling the glass shards on strings as it went up. It was like a huge glass wind chime.”

James said: “Helping assemble artworks such as Sanctuary and Human Tiles and being involved in the running of the interactive installation Keys of Light was not only enjoyable but felt like I was having a real impact in the production of the festival.”

Human Tiles at the Gala Theatre & Cinema by Ocubo and supported by Walkergate and the Embassy of Portugal, Lumiere? Durham 2019 Picture: Matthew Andrews

The experience of being a project trainee can be intense as well as rewarding.

Heather said: “It was so physically demanding – especially the long days – all the staff would meet to eat at midnight or 1am after the evening wound down. We had a daily comparison of our step counts. The adrenaline and exhaustion was all part of it though and one of my favourite bits of working on festivals.”

“Unsurprisingly, coffee is needed,” said Lee. “But the producers and Artichoke as a whole trusted us trainees with a lot, which was amazing. I felt like a valued member of the team even though I was new.”

James remembers the challenge of taking a tour of VIPs around the festival and having to step outside his comfort zone and speak in public.

He said: “Working as part of the team and watching how people interacted within the industry was incredibly beneficial. The opportunity to ask questions of every member of the organisation, even Helen Marriage, the artistic director, was generous.

Photograph Matthew Andrews. www.

“It was a great experience and something I would recommend anyone interested in developing a career in artistic events management to do. The insight and experience I gathered was be invaluable to me and the experience proved to be even more than I hoped for.”

Information about the 2021 project trainee scheme will be announced in September.

IT’S ALL ABOUT JOBS

Gateshead-based contractor, Tolent, is supporting Lumiere for the second year running. The team is currently on site on Durham’s Riverside, delivering one of the region’s biggest developments – Milburngate. The £84.5m project will transform Durham’s cityscape, and as part of the construction Tolent will also deliver public realm and social spaces along the Riverside. 

“Behind the very visible structures you can now see on the city’s riverside is a dedicated, highly skilled team who are doing a fantastic job,” said Tolent CEO Andy McLeod.

“Our current average daily workforce is over 350 people, and this number is expected to increase to 500 people at the peak of the programme. The project recently surpassed the milestone of 750,000 hours, which will hit 1.5 million hours upon completion in 2022. We’re also supporting the economy with more than 70 per cent of the site spend in a 25-mile radius.

“Continuing our commitment to the local community, we’re delighted to be supporting the incredible Lumiere festival again and look forward to seeing the city burst into life later this year.”