The historic city of York with be bathed in a spectacular light show later this month. Steve Pratt finds out more.

BEN STERN tells me: “I could get boring about pixels”. Happily, he doesn’t or our conversation might have ended before he had divulged the true scope and scale of Envisions, the central artwork in this year’s Illuminating York Festival.

He could also go on about largescale video mapping, which last year projected images onto York Minister. This time, the Castle Museum in the Eye of York will come to life with an even more spectacular show with another leap in technology using architectural mapping, video and cutting edge software that aims to bring the exterior of the museum to life.

On Tuesday, Guy Fawkes will be returning to the city of his birth ahead of November 5 to stop off at the Castle Museum to preview Envisions, a piece inspired by the theme echoes of the past.

The gunpowder plot conspirator will be in the courtyard in front of the Castle Museum as Envisions is shown in its entirety for the first time.

The museum building – a former women’s prison – will be the canvas for an artwork telling stories of York and some of its more colourful characters (step forward, Mr Fawkes).

Digital, architectural 3D mapping, the talents of the worldwide group United VJs and Gaia Nova, film and digital art, as well as a soundscape that includes music from Adam Freeland, are combining to bring the museum exterior to life.

Ben Stern and Philip Mayer are the artistic, technical and creative London-based duo leading Gaia Nova, which has delivered many large-scale outdoor video art installations around the country.

Stern says the scale of Envisions is “a pretty big deal”, explaining: “It’s a beautiful building and surroundings which is a great canvas to work with and the inspiration from York is wonderful to work with.

“It’s on a very big scale for the UK. This particular art form of mapping is in its infancy but very much of the moment. It’s very exciting.”

Stories of famous characters, such as Fawkes and Dick Turpin, and some not-so-famous ones from 2,000 years of colourful York history, have inspired the installation. Each night will be a slightly different experience as artists mix the images live every night.

Onlookers are being invited to upload their video images to YouTube so that York’s past will live on in the future online.

Gaia Nova are co-ordinating the centre piece after creating the tag tool at York’s Roman Multangular Tower two years ago. Envisions is being created by United VJs, an international group of artists working in London, Brazil and Germany.

“Castle Museum is a great building, but quite a large area to fill,” says Stern. “We use a lot of online tools to collate the project because we’re all based quite internationally. We’ve collaborated on quite a lot of projects. A lot of our stuff can be sent over the internet and transferred around.”

Technology is being developed all the time to achieve their objectives.

Stern says they don’t see there being a big division between the technical side and being an artist.

“If you’re an artist you don’t need to understand the technical, you’re just making your art. If you’re a technician, you don’t care about art you just care about how the machine works. We pride ourselves on doing both.

“We like being creative and also like having a deep understanding of technology. If you are going to work in this sector you need that understanding.”

The artists worked together a few years ago on something similar for the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall in London. That involved wrapping the hall in light and telling the story of the building in video.

This is the sixth year of Illuminating York, with previous commissions involving major international works for the Minster, Museum Gardens and other historic sites within the city walls. Since 2005, the festival has attracted 100,000 visitors, both residents and tourists, and brought more than £10m into the city.

Envisions and Contours, an artwork by sound artist Karen Monid, are supported by an extensive programme offering the opportunity to visit other famous sites at night, as many of York’s visitor attractions will open their doors after hours and invite visitors to a series of special performances, light installations and art exhibition.

In addition, many city centre bars, restaurants and cafes are also offering offers and discounts.

• The 2011 Illuminating York festival runs from next Wednesday to Saturday, October 29, from 6.30pm to 10pm. Further details at illuminatingyork.co.org or call York Information Centre on 01904-550099.