Illuminated Sheep: Hadrian's Wall Art Trail

This September, Illuminated Sheep returns as the famous flock form a brand-new, free Art Trail from the East to West of Hadrian’s Wall.

From Maryport to Arbeia, the flock will separate and will be looked after and customised by community champions, businesses and organisations. 

The 2024 Illuminated Sheep Art Trail will encourage locals and visitors to find their inner shepherd, exploring the Hadrian Wall Country’s rich landscape, heritage and culture to #FindTheFlock.

Click here to see locations for the 2024 Illuminated Sheep Art Trail and get ready to #FindTheFlock!

Watch this space for more announcements!

At the end of the 2024 Art Trail, the Illuminated Sheep will shed their costumes, gather as a flock and appear as an artwork during October. On their urban adventure, the flock will be bathed in a multi-coloured light display by artist Deepa Mann-Kler with a specially-commissioned soundtrack appearing at:

Toffee Factory | Thursday 3 & Friday 4 October
Segedunum | Friday 11 & Saturday 12 October
Newcastle Cathedral | Tuesday 22 - Thursday 24 October

More info…

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 the 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.

Individual sheep were auctioned off at Hexham Mart, adopted and customised by local communities across the county to create the first Illuminated Sheep Art Trail in 2022 before gathering at the Festival of Flame at Hexham Abbey.

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 the North of Tyne Combined Authority, now the new North East Combined Authority.

Photo credit: Kit Haigh, Green Croft Arts. Gilsand Village’s Sheep Baaarbara, famous for appearing on top of a bus shelter!