On December 1, Arts Brookfield debuted a visually stunning installation created by the award-winning design firm Rockwell Group. Luminaries is a reimagined holiday tradition—a spectacular lighting display that follows the glass enclosed topography of the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place in the heart of Lower Manhattan. Built on the season’s traditions of sharing, community, and connection, visitors are immersed in a glowing canopy of 650 custom lanterns embedded with LEDs, each capable of changing color and intensity. The installation will be open to the public from December 2, 2015 to January 10, 2016 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Started from December 2, up to 650 LED lanterns are ready to welcome passersby with spectecular glow. (All Photo Coutesy of Brookfield Place New York)
Conceived by the LAB at Rockwell Group, the firm’s interactive technology studio, and inspired by the concept of a wishing well, three glowing Wishing Stations will be positioned within the iconic Winter Garden’s palm trees. Guests may send a “wish” to the lanterns above by placing their hands on the touch-sensitive stations, which pulse with color. Upon releasing their hands, color erupts in the canopy above, translating the wish into a mesmerizing display of colors that travel throughout the lanterns.
The interactive and collective act of wishing creates a communal and celebratory tradition. Through this initiative, Brookfield has partnered with the GRAMMY Foundation® to support their GRAMMY in the Schools® music education programs for high school students. For every wish sent by the public, Arts Brookfield will donate $1 up to $25,000. Luminaries launches on #GivingTuesday, to honor the global celebration dedicated to philanthropy.
Different view of the lighting installation.
“The holiday season is so much about sharing moments with families and friends, as well as the act of giving that marks generosity and good will,” said David Rockwell, founder and President, Rockwell Group. “Taking inspiration from rituals across the globe of offering light as a shared gesture, we conceived Luminaries in the Winter Garden to forge a new downtown holiday tradition in this monumental public space”
“We are thrilled to invite a visionary like David Rockwell and his team at the LAB to create an installation in the Winter Garden, one of our most dynamic public spaces, enhancing Brookfield’s already robust arts program,” noted Debra Simon, vice president and artistic director, Arts Brookfield. “Luminaries’ combination of light and interactivity is a powerful way to create a sense of community downtown during the holiday season.”
LEDs embedded in the lanterns create an all-day/night lighting experience. Choreographed light shows are scheduled throughout the day and evening.Visitors will experience a truly spectacular light show every two hours beginning at 10 a.m. and ending at 8 p.m. daily. The five shows are befittingly entitled “Snowfall,” “Christmas Tree,” “Ribbons,” “Firecracker,” and “Northern Lights.”
Brookfield Place welcomes the world every day and is thrilled to be the beacon of light and giving this holiday season.
