A gigantic Basilosaurus lantern puppet along with creatures from the ancient seas will illuminate Bexleyheath at a special parade in the New Year.
Residents can include their very own sea creature creations in the display by attending a series of free prehistoric-themed lantern making craft workshops throughout January.
Artist Miyuki Kasahara is leading the workshops, guiding children and families to make their own prehistoric sea creature lantern. The workshops will take place at Central Library in Bexleyheath. Details of the workshops will be announced in the coming weeks.
All the lanterns will be brought together for a special parade in The Broadway on Saturday 31 January - The Night of the Basilosaurus. The parade will reveal a huge Basilosaurus lantern puppet; a large scale illuminated sculptural creation based on the extinct prehistoric whale, that will be the centrepiece of the parade. Talented drummers from TARU arts will also join, providing a beat for the illuminated marine life parade.
Councillor Cafer Munur, Cabinet Member for Place Shaping, said:
This is a brilliant opportunity for residents and visitors to Bexleyheath to get creative in the company of a professional artist throughout January, making a visit to the town centre even more special than usual.
Children and adults alike are welcome to get involved. The parade promises to be a unique experience and a chance to see a huge new artwork that has been newly created for Bexley and I can’t think of a better way to conclude our amazing Night Visions festival.”
Artist Miyuki Kasahara explained the inspiration for the event:
Have you ever found shark teeth in Lesnes Abbey Woods fossil pit? Bexley was under a shallow tropical sea and these sharks were from the Eocene Epoch 55.8 to 33.9 million years ago.
That time was characterised by a warmer global climate that significantly helped mammals' evolution and biodiversity.
To celebrate Bexley's evolutionary history, we will create Eocene Sea animal lanterns including Basilosaurus, a giant prehistoric whale that lived there. Other individual lanterns will include ancient marine life such as jellyfish. Due to rapid global warming in the present era, climate change is now causing large marine animals to disappear, we must think about how to support our oceans and the biodiverse community living there. Together we can make Bexley's night sky into an Eocene epoch sea.”
João Guarantani, Executive Director of Business at Bow Arts said:
Bow Arts is delighted to be working with local communities to deliver ‘Night Visions’, and we hope that the lantern parade will inspire people from all over Bexleyheath and beyond to come together to share their imagination and creativity.
From the Lakeside Centre in Thamesmead, the talented artists that we work with champion important values through the arts. We are proud to be working with Miyuki to explore Bexley's fascinating history, and to use the power of creativity to highlight our collective need to care for our environments."
The event is being brought to Bexleyheath through a partnership between Bow Arts and Bexleyheath Business Improvement District as part of Night Visions. Night Visions is a festival of light-art themed events that has been made possible by £100,000 of investment from Arts Council England in London Borough of Bexley and its partners in Bexley Culture Network.
It forms part of #CelebratingBexley, a year-long programme of arts, culture and entertainment marking key local anniversaries including 60 years of the London Borough of Bexley, 500 years since the closure of Lesnes Abbey and 160 years of Crossness Engines.
Details of all the lantern making workshops will be made available soon.