It’s not often that you can live out your dreams in a professional capacity, but for Gareth Hadden, who has long harboured ambitions to hold a light art festival in Cape Town’s historic Company’s Garden, the inaugural LUMENOCITY, which took place over four days in early April, was the realisation of a long-held goal. “This is an idea that I have been holding on to for quite some time,” he commented. “To see it take shape in the way it did really is a dream come true.”
For Hadden, whose background lies firmly in technical production and design, having produced some of South Africa’s biggest and most ambitious shows over the years through his boutique design and production house, the project represented both a personal reset and a professional challenge. “I’m used to doing big shows with demanding clients, so the production side is well within my wheelhouse, but I knew nothing about the commercial side – ticket sales, marketing, PR,” he recalled. “I’ve always stuck to my lane in design and production, and this was a different challenge entirely, but one I was excited to take on.”
Unperturbed by the steep learning curve that lay ahead, Hadden threw everything at the project – even going as far as putting his house up as collateral to secure the initial cash injection required to get LUMENOCITY off the ground. “It was a massive gamble,” he confided. “But this is something that I have had in my mind for many years, something I’ve always believed in, and I knew that, with the right support, I would be able to pull it off.”
What followed was less a conventional event build and more a collective rallying cry to South Africa’s live production community, with Hadden’s long-standing relationships across technical production, rental and staging quickly becoming the foundation upon which LUMENOCITY was built. “When people heard that I had this idea, the support was incredible,” he recalled. “People are used to my projects having big budgets, but this was something completely different and still the response from most of my old friends in the industry was one of empathy and a genuine desire to help get this thing off the ground.”
That support rapidly evolved into a formidable network of suppliers, distributors and manufacturers coming together to contribute equipment, expertise and ideas. “All of a sudden, we had a bunch of the country’s best tech suppliers all helping, all chipping in,” said Hadden. “The weren’t worried about commercial returns; they just wanted to come and play.”
With this strong base of industry heavyweights behind the project, Hadden was then able to attract several South African artists to lend their creative talents. A staunch supporter of local talent, Hadden subsequently turned down multiple approaches from overseas-based creatives looking to get involved. “This is a South African-made project; we have the talent, skills and equipment here, and I feel it’s my duty to utilise and support the local network,” he commented.
The resulting festival became an unusual convergence of disciplines; large-scale entertainment technology sat alongside handcrafted installations, interactive environments and projection-mapped architecture. “We had the very latest in technology sitting alongside local artisans making installations from recycled bottles, and somehow it just worked together,” Hadden reflected.
‘There was a lot of love’
The scale of supplier support illustrates the depth of confidence the local industry had in the project, with the likes of Gearhouse, MGG, DWR Distribution and ShowTex among the many local suppliers who gave the event their backing. “As well as tonnes of kit and people, which were essential to the success of the project, the belief and support from the industry has been incredible,” Hadden smiled.
When it came to the installations, the Beam of Hope, featuring 32 5K xenon searchlights supplied by Gearhouse, saw a powerful beam fired directly up from the heart of the city into the skies above, alerting Cape Town residents that something special was coming. “The whole city saw this gigantic beam firing into the sky,” Hadden recalled. “That was my calling card.”
Elsewhere, Lumen Edge supplied four 25k laser projectors for one of the festival’s visual centrepieces – large-format projection mapping onto the Iziko Museum façade; MGG supplied projection for Iziko Gallery; DWR’s Duncan Riley sent a Robe iBOLT, which was used to stunning effect to create a rainbow beam firing the length of the gardens; ShowTex supplied two custom GiantMirror creations – a kaleidoscopic tunnel and an LED dodecahedron; and numerous independent creatives contributed specialist technology, scenic structures and interactive concepts.
That collaborative philosophy extended beyond established suppliers and programmers, with third year students from Cape Town Creative Academy also getting involved. “We offered students guidance and as well as a platform to present a proper meaningful end-of-year project,” Hadden explained. “It was a huge opportunity for these young people just starting on their journey into the industry.”
Creative independence was put at the forefront of every decision throughout the process, with Hadden giving short shrift to any potential sponsor that attempted to compromise the artistic integrity of the event. “We turned down several potentially lucrative opportunities that wouldn’t have fit with the aesthetic of the event,” Hadden revealed. “I was firm that there would be no pop-up banners; everything had to curated and beautiful.” Resisting the temptation to overcommercialise, brand integration was handled selectively, with the event working alongside car brand Mini on some tastefully created projection mapping, while radio partner KFM provided extensive promotional support.
Operationally, the biggest challenge proved not to be technical delivery, but audience demand. “In my wildest dreams, I thought were going to sell 3,500 tickets for the Saturday, but we actually sold 5,800,” Hadden revealed. “Not only did we have to stop selling and declare the event sold out, but we had to rapidly upscale our infrastructure in terms of crowd management and catering just to meet the extra demand.”
Yet despite the steep learning curve, LUMENOCITY’s success demonstrated that not only does South Africa have the demand for such an event but the country also has the infrastructure and creative flair to deliver it locally. “There was a lot of love in this event,” Hadden reflected. “The whole of the industry that I’ve been working with for 20 years came together and supported it, which was truly humbling.”
Looking ahead, Hadden is not short on ambition. As well as a five-year plan to grow LUMENOCITY inside Cape Town, culminating with video mapping onto Table Mountain, he plans on using the event as a platform to showcase South African creatives internationally. “My long-term dream is to go to one of the more established international festivals and take South African artists to the rest of the world,” he commented.
“There was something special in the air. We had 17,000 people, from children to the oldest person I knew at the show being 95. We had all demographics, religions, colours – it was such a harmonious event that really brought people together, which is rare in these times,” Hadden concluded. “And for the creative and production industries here in South Africa, the event has seen genuine connections formed, which I have no doubt will strengthen the industry in the long run.”
Photos: Jonx Pillemer
