From August 15 - 21, installments featuring spheres of lights will be unveiled as part of the Celebration of the Bow River public art series. Sources: River of Light are by renowned artist Laurent Louyer, and his London-based studio Creatmosphere. Louyer uses a diverse array of lighting formats, technologies and materials to allow investigation of social and emotional characteristics of a place, "enabling the audience to interact, reflect and reconsider the illuminated spaces.” Daylight Spheres: Colour-coded daylight spheres will be dotted around river islands between Edworthy Park and Prince’s Island Park. The spheres represent the Bow River’s water sources: rainwater, groundwater, glacier and snowmelt. Data Spheres: Data spheres will reside on the water at the Prince’s Island Lagoon, and will become illuminated each evening at 9:00 p.m. The installation makes use of light, motion and colour to communicate information about the river flow, quality, water cycle and demand. Creatmosphere feeds data to each of the individually-addressed spheres, and in turn different light patterns are created, depending on the data received. These lit spheres create a matrix of light, reminding us of the river’s intricacies. River of Light event: On August 21 at 9:00 p.m., 500 spheres will be released into the river at Edworthy Park and will float down the river to Prince’s Island, where they will be diverted into the lagoon and collected by viewers and volunteers as a keepsake and to continue their story on land. This beautiful project celebrates the Bow River as our life source and as our communal gathering place for people living and visiting in Calgary. Celebration of the Bow River features six artists who create events that draw people to the river and present new perspectives on current environmental issues and ideas. Other projects in the series are Peter von Tiesenhausen’s Passages, Lewis and Taggarts’ The Museum of Bow, Derek Besant’s photo exhibit I am the River, Jose Luis Torres’ The Observatory and Cecile Belmont’s Letter Performances. The Public Art Program works with City departments to foster great public spaces and programs that enrich the lives of citizens and make Calgary an attractive city. Partnering with the Utilities and Environmental Protection department on Celebration of the Bow is a unique opportunity to combine world-class art with the development and delivery of programs around water conservation and water quality.