Led by Queen’s Hall Arts, Illuminated Sheep was a visual arts trail that first lit up Northumberland to celebrate the arrival of the Lindisfarne Gospels in the North East in the autumn of 2022.
Illuminated Sheep by artist Deepa Mann-Kler was inspired by the Gospels’ themes of light and pilgrimage, and has since seen our flock of life-sized sheep lit up in bright colours at some of the region’s most iconic locations including Alnwick Garden, Bamburgh Castle, Hexham Abbey, Vindolanda and Woodhorn Museum as well as further from home at the Bradford is Lit light festival.
New for 2024! Illuminated Sheep Adoption Scheme along Hadrian’s Wall this Autumn.
We’re looking for community groups and visitor attractions to get involved and create a line of 50 Sheep from the East to the West of Hadrian’s Wall in September 2024.
Artist Deepa Mann-Kler and our Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Katy Taylor explain more about the project from the stunning location of Bamburgh Castle at the official launch of the project in September 2022.
Individual sheep were then auctioned off at Hexham Mart, adopted and customised by local communities across the county to create a free Art Trail before the flock were rounded up for a final gathering at the Festival of Flame at Hexham Abbey.
Almost 280,000 people engaged with the project.
Illuminated Sheep was commissioned by Northumberland County Council and developed and managed by Queen’s Hall Arts and the Hexham Culture Network. It was part of the Cultural Programme of Hexham High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) and funded by North of Tyne Combined Authority.
This video outlines the impact the project had on the communites that adopted the sheep. It was filmed when the flock was gathered back together at the Festival of Flame:
