Students light up Rochdale skyline

Rochdale Sixth Form art students with teacher Stephanie Green

Students from Rochdale Sixth Form College lit up Rochdale Police Station and the old Magistrates Court building with a digital light show on Wednesday (19 March).

The show was part of the Big Digital Project, which is taking place in ten Greater Manchester boroughs to increase engagement and participation opportunities for local communities in the arts.

The show was put together by first and second year art students at Rochdale Sixth Form College and saw them work with Rochdale based artist Vincent James as well as artists Andy McKeown and Peter Walker from external galleries to create the final piece.

The students also worked alongside Link4Life’s Arts and Heritage Service.

Art teacher Stephanie Green said: “We were asked by Touchstones to get involved and said yes because it seemed like a good thing to get involved with.”

The student’s work was based on the faces and places of Rochdale and included images such as Rochdale Town Hall, Drake Street and the students themselves.

Student Bismah Zafar who took part in the project said: “We had to do all of the research about the things we wanted to include and then go out and take the pictures and do all of the filming for the show.”

The project started in December and finished yesterday and showed the students create animations and various digital works. Stephanie said: “We’re very pleased with the work. It looks really good.”

Bismah added: “It was good to do because it was something we haven’t done before. It was something different to do and I’m really pleased with the final piece. We all worked together and I think it looks good.”

The Big Digital Project is a collaboration between Lets Go Global and the Greater Manchester Arts Officers Networks. Naomi Whitman from Lets Go Global said: “It has been a good project. It is nice to see the students work displayed in a place were people may not necessarily see art.”

The project was funded by Arts Council England and AGMA.

The lights show in each Greater Manchester borough will then lead up to a large-scale light show in and around Albert Square in Manchester City Centre on Saturday 29 March at 7:30pm.