Cambridge Live has announced at its Annual General Meeting that it is taking over the running of the spectacular e-Luminate Cambridge Festival.
e-Luminate joins Cambridge Live’s portfolio of events, giving the Festival a stable footing for the future, helping it to thrive and ensuring its growth and development in coming years.
e-Luminate Cambridge Festival was founded in 2012 by Alessandra Caggiano and Hugh Parnell. They wanted to create a festival of light which would bring together the two sides of the city, uniting its technological talent with its cultural and artistic vivacity. Each year, residents and visitors discover the richness and diversity of Cambridge’s iconic buildings and public spaces through a range of light installations, family activities, talks and concerts.
Cambridge Live and e-Luminate recognised that they have a shared vision for arts and culture in the city and that by combining they can ambitiously scope an even brighter future for the event. Cambridge Live celebrates e-Luminate’s past success and understands the Festival’s important position in the city’s cultural calendar, and is very pleased to welcome Alessandra Caggiano into the organisation to lead on the event’s future plans.
The announcement of the new partnership took place at Cambridge Live’s Annual General Meeting on Friday 9 September, an evening where the new organisation looked back on the success its first financial year. Hugh Parnell and Alessandra Caggiano joined the Chair and Executive Management Team on the stage for the announcement.
Sara Garnham, Chair of Cambridge Live, said “We are committed to large scale, live events for the city; sharing the magic and bringing Cambridge together. I cannot think of a better partnership than to bring e-Luminate into Cambridge Live. With a crossover between science, technology, art and entertainment, over the last four years the team has created an amazing February festival. We are delighted to be working with Alessandra to ensure the future of this wonderful event.”
Alessandra Caggiano, Festival Director & Curator of e-Luminate Cambridge, said “This is such exciting news for the e-Luminate Cambridge Festival. Becoming part of the Cambridge Live portfolio will ensure ongoing sustainability and will allow us to develop new ideas and grow the event to its full potential. I am very happy and proud because I feel my effort and the efforts of the many volunteers and our supporters who helped create the event in these five years have had a positive and satisfactory outcome.”
Hugh Parnell, Chairman of the e-Luminate Foundation and co-founder of the Cambridge e-Luminate Festival, said “This is an excellent outcome, stabilising the Festival for the foreseeable future under the Cambridge Live banner and ensuring Alessandra’s inspiration and hard work will endure with a legacy for years to come.”
Photo: e-Luminate Cambridge Festival 2016, projection artwork Ross Ashton & Susie Olczak on Senate House with Panasonic, lighting of Gonville and Caius College by Malgosia Benham with Illuminate Design.