DUBLIN’S LIBERTY Hall will be transformed into a giant 50-metre television screen for 18 nights next month as part of the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival.
LED lights installed into 330 windows on the south and west facades of the building will display art pieces created by members of the public from dusk until dawn each night.
The animations can also be viewed live each night on the internet in sync with music or sound effects.
The installation, called Playhouse, is inspired by Blinkenlights, a display which took place in Berlin in 2003. A group of computer hackers converted a building on Alexanderplatz into a black and white display, allowing people to share messages and simple animations with the city.
Speaking about the project, Loughlin Deegan, artistic director of Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival, said: "It is the role of all great festivals to light up and energise the cities where they happen and Playhouseliterally allows us to do just that."
Producer Brian Fallon said several hundred animations would be shown each night of the theatre festival, each ranging from 30 seconds to three minutes in length.
“We’ll try and get everyone in, if someone sends something in, we’ll try and facilitate them,” said Mr Fallon, of Dreambox productions, adding, “If a particular animation is amazing, we’ll repeat it several times.”
Mr Fallon said the project was proving hugely popular, with 500 fans following it on Twitter and social-networking site Facebook prior to the launch.
Liberty call: how to get involved
MEMBERS OF the public wishing to help transform the appearance of Liberty Hall can do so by submitting animations through
www.daft.ie/playhouse
Animations can be created for display on two sides of the iconic building by downloading software from the website. The program shows a picture of Liberty Hall and by clicking on the windows, budding artists can turn each one on or off and change the colour.
By repeating this process, members of the public can create an animation within a matter of minutes, with a €1,000 prize fund offered for the "best overall animation". The best animation will also be selected to open the installation on September 24th, alongside specially commissioned pieces.
Some 100,000 low-energy LED lights will be installed into 330 windows on the south and west faces of the building.
At night, these lights will illuminate each window as a solid colour, turning it into a tiny pixel that forms part of one giant display. Sound and music from the animations will also be broadcast from the building on FM radio so that people can listen in.