Mirror ball installation lighting up Birmingham city centre tonight - how to see the dazzling pop-up art show

A dazzling light installation is set to share the love in Birmingham city centre to help locals through challenging times by beaming light throughout the city - accompanied by disco music.

Natural light will be reflected through a giant heart-shaped mirror ball as the sun sets each night from this evening (Thursday, March 21) to Saturday (March 23) from 6.30pm to 10.30pm each night.

The free pop-up artwork is called Our Beating Heart and you’ll be able to find it in Snow Hill Square where it will transform the space with fantastical dancing lights and an eye-catching wash of colour

Created by Studio Vertigo,Our Beating Heart is a revolving sculpture featuring 11,000 mirrored tiles which creates unexpected shimmering sights on a grand scale, allowing viewers to admire thousands of rotating glints of light. 

The installation is accompanied by a heart-themed disco soundtrack, and on Saturday there will be a very special one-off silent disco – free to experience and no booking required!

Get the latest headlines, straight to your inbox, with BirminghamWorld’s free emails Bringing Our Beating Heart to Birmingham is part of a test project called Light is Coming, which will explore the feasibility of a new city centre wide light festival.Visitors experiencing the light installation in March will be invited to share their thoughts when they visit, which will help to inform plans and fundraising for Birmingham Light Festival.

Who is funding the Light is Coming project in Snow Hill Square in Birmingham?

The Light is Coming project has received funding from the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

This is the first time Studio Vertigo have ever showcased their masterful light-based installation in Birmingham. The organisation is a collaboration between Lucy McDonnell and Stephen Newby who work internationally to create light installations and sculptures. 

They create work that questions the relationship between objects, viewers, and their environment. Their work has been shown internationally and recently been commissioned for Amsterdam Light Festival, Lumiere Durham, Uppsala Light Festival, CPH Copenhagen Light Festival, Vilnius Light Festival and Taiwan Lantern Festival.   

Who has brought the Light is Coming project to Snow Hill Square in Birmingham?

With the help of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, City Curator, Alex Nicholson-Evans has joined forces with producers Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces and Colmore BID to bring this installation to Birmingham.

Alex commented: “There has never been a more important moment for the people of this city to come together and share some love and positivity. Birmingham is facing incredibly difficult times, but this is still a truly fantastic city to live in, to work in, to visit, and to do business in. 

“It’s a city full of resilient and creative people and I hope many of you will take this opportunity to experience part of the city centre in a different light. We’re inviting anyone who visits the Birmingham premiere of Our Beating Heart to take a photo and share it on social media with the hashtag #lovebirmingham. Let’s spread some much-needed positivity about this special place we all call home.”

Michele Wilby, CEO of Colmore BID added, “We are thrilled to be supporting this project which will drive footfall to the city centre during what can be a quiet time of year for our wonderful retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses. It’s fantastic to be bringing this artwork to Birmingham for people to enjoy and experience completely free of charge. Celebrating creativity and culture in the city is incredibly important, now more than ever, and we can’t wait for this exciting moment as we welcome the start of Spring.”