2015 marks UNESCO’s 'International Year of Light', a global initiative designed to highlight the importance of optical technologies. The scheme is described as ‘a unique opportunity to inspire, educate and connect on a global scale’. 

Shake your cottontail and get over to Salford this December...

And how better to do that than install a family of gigantic glowing rabbits in Salford Quays?

Titled Intrude, the radiant brood is Amanda Parer’s installation on the natural world; designed to remind us of our fragile place on planet earth in a quirky, humorous manner. Never mind the elephant in the room, it’s the rabbits on the plaza as Lightwaves takes over the Quays’ public spaces with a free digital light fest for all to get stuck into.

The project continues the success of Squidsoup’s Aeolian Light in December last year, a Quays Culture commission which subsequently toured the world and became a Lumen Prize finalist.

Cathedral of MirrorsCathedral of Mirrors

Other artworks are no less original, with Mads Christensen’s Cathedral of Mirrors responding to spectators’ movements and Marcos Zotes’ Amaze confounding participants with a psychotropic labyrinth in MediaCityUK.

Alongside the interactive trio of installations will run a (literally) enlightening programme of dance, workshops and pop-up performances. It’s free, too, so shake your cottontail and get over to Salford for a budget-friendly time that’s truly illuminating.

Lightwaves runs at the Salford Quays plaza and in MediaCityUK from 12 to 27 December. More info at quaysculture.com.