Liverpool’s LightNight promises a hearty helping of after-hours arts and culture for all when it takes place on Friday 15 May, as over 100 organisations host events and exhibitions at more than 50 locations around the city.

With such a jam-packed showcase of unique one-offs, special commissions, launches and guided tours though, as this year’s festivities officially kickstart Liverpool’s major One Magnificent City programme, it’s tricky to know where to start. We’ve picked out a few highlights that’ll ensure you make the most of the spectacular feast of entertainment and who knows; you may come across a few more surprises along the way!

If you’re attending LightNight share your pictures with us on Twitter @YourMoveMag.

LOOK/15 Liverpool International Photography Festival

Ok so this may be a whole other festival in its own right, but what better time to get it all underway than LightNight. The biennial celebration of photography will be setting up home around the city until 31 June, but you could be among the first to explore its range of exhibitions as previews take place at venues including Tate Liverpool, The Bluecoat and the University of Liverpool’s Victoria Gallery & Museum to name a few. The likes of Tate and The Bluecoat will also be adding to the occasion, with a host of musical entertainment for the opening night.

Hex// Light DiVision

Specially commissioned for this year’s LightNight festival by the Arts Council, Hex// Light DiVision will illuminate streets around the city as a science fiction ritual is performed at different times and locations throughout the night. If you’re heading to Liverpool Anglican Cathedral Plateau, University Square, Pier Head or William Brown Street, then you could be mesmerised a display of light, music and movement. Put together by the Harlequin Dynamites and collaborators, the display follows LightNight’s 2015 ‘Looking to the New World’ theme as the Dyad ManMachines seek harmony between technology and nature.

Kaleidoscopic Disturbance 175

Visitors are encouraged to have their own cushions at the ready, as a display is projected onto the ceiling of Liverpool Cathedral for the very first time. Lie down on the floor of the iconic city building and look up, as artist Andy McKeown’s hypnotic work appears 175 ft high under the Tower Vault.

Fragments of cathedral stained glass will endlessly form and reform live, alongside the sounds of live chamber choirs and the organ during this engaging show.

A Celebration of Song

You may have witnessed LightNight attractions in the vicinity of Liverpool’s striking Metropolitan Cathedral, but 2015 will be the first year the building has welcomed the festivities into its main space inside. During the night the venue will play host to a variety of choral and a cappella musical performances by choirs and vocal harmony groups from around the region, providing the perfect opportunity to take in some of the cathedral’s stunning features.

Lusitania: Life, Loss, Legacy

Especially for LightNight, Merseyside Maritime Museum will present an extra special showcase of its major Lusitania exhibition. An evening of music, dance, poetry and art will explore the ongoing display, which commemorates the sinking of the passenger ship on 7 May 1915 during the First World War.

During your visit to the museum, you may stumble across a host of other entertainment as the venue also plays host to Mermaids in their Element – nautical-inspired readings and images by Professor Sarah Peverley and Liverpool University Players – and the Shanties on the Brocklbank will bring a performance by the Liverpool Shanty Kings on Albert Dock nearby.

The Mummy Returns!

Be one of the first to see the unmissable ‘Garstang Mummy’ exhibit at the University of Liverpool’s Garstang Museum of Archaeology. This new family friendly display will open up on LightNight and showcase the mummy which survived 3,000 years in an Egyptian tomb, as well as escaping the 1941 Blitz and rubbing shoulders with Tutankhamun before being brought back to the city.

For the full LightNight programme visit www.lightnightliverpool.co.uk

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