School children design Christmas lighting installations to illuminate Soho streets
Students from Soho Parish Primary School have designed a series of luminescent installations to light the streets of Soho, London.
This year saw 130 pupils compete for the Soho Kids Xmas Lights project.
Fourteen winners had their designs realised as LED lighting installations and assisted in curating the Soho exhibition, which displayed 35 lighting designs from previous years alongside their own.
The creative, multi-coloured designs bring a playfulness to the busy Soho streets and drew on festive traditions for inspiration.
They also referenced themes of "lighting, identity of place and fashion".
This year's winning designs included a patterned Christmas bauble by six-year-old Emberly and a reindeer in a Christmas hat by Vesper.
Both students won additional awards from co-organisers Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) for "outstanding design works".
The two children described the experience of having their work exhibited as "amazing and really nice".
This year marked the third edition of the annual Soho Kids Xmas Lights project.
The initiative was set up in 2021 by Antonio Capelao and is organised by his community interest company Architecture for kids, in partnership with RIBA and LIA.
As part of the project, a series of workshops were delivered by Capelao alongside the assistant head of Soho Parish Primary School Hannah Peaty and RIBA interim learning manager Joshua Brooks.
These saw the students conduct research into the area's local buildings, culture and traditions, and also included a visit to the Andy Warhol: The Textiles exhibition at London's Fashion and Textile Museum.
The light installations will be exhibited in Soho till 7th January 2024.
Similarly festive projects in London include a multi-coloured, neon Christmas tree installation in King's Cross and a Christmas tree made from stacked travel cases in Mayfair.
The photography is by Tunde Valiszka.
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