The Light opened its doors in the northeast England city on 22 August 2026 with an inaugural exhibition titled Victory Over the Sun: Encounters with Light that runs until 17 January 2027. Curated by Natasha Howes, the show brings together works by Tracey Emin, Dan Flavin, Olafur Eliasson, Chila Burman, Steve McQueen, Liz West and Cerith Wyn Evans among others, according to Durham County Council. The venue occupies the repurposed building that previously housed the Durham Light Infantry Museum and Art Gallery, which closed in 2016. A separate permanent display titled We Are The Durhams explores the military regiment’s history through interactive and sensory exhibits.
The exhibition is organised around five themes including perception, text and nature, a council announcement stated. Dan Flavin’s Untitled (to Don Judd, colourist) 1-5 from 1987 forms a key part of the perception section with its fluorescent light tubes, while Tracey Emin’s neon work It’s a crime to live with the person you don’t love appears in the text area. Olafur Eliasson contributed a suspended piece based on an exploded star remnant that creates moving light and shadow patterns. Liz West’s Our Spectral Vision fills space with LED-lit glass prisms to produce saturated colours, according to exhibition descriptions published by The Art Newspaper.
Durham County Council invested £17 million in the transformation of the site at Aykley Heads, with architecture firm NORR leading the redevelopment that incorporates extensive glass to integrate the surrounding landscape. The project forms part of the wider Durham Innovation District strategy aimed at combining culture, history and innovation. Admission to the permanent DLI exhibition and the building itself is free while entry to the temporary light art show is ticketed at £10 for adults and £2.50 for children, the council reported. Dedicated education spaces, a cafe with outdoor terrace and areas for events complete the facilities.
The centre’s name and inaugural show draw on the region’s historical links to light innovation, including the 1,300-year-old lunar calendar created by scholar Bede and the invention of the first practical electric light bulb by Sunderland-born Joseph Swan in the 19th century. Durham University has also participated in NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope project, adding a contemporary scientific dimension that the exhibition highlights through a replica of Swan’s bulb. A council assessment found these connections help tie local heritage to the international artworks on display. The show additionally explores light’s role in sensory experience and its intersections with science and nature.
Council chair Robbie Rodiss, who officially opened the venue, said it was a long-anticipated day for Durham City. “The Light is a venue that not only honours the building’s past, but showcases its future as a centre for art, innovation and history,” Rodiss stated. “This has been a significant investment into Durham’s cultural offering, and we are delighted to have already received an incredibly positive response from visitors.” Curator Natasha Howes noted in remarks carried by multiple outlets that light art provides accessible and immersive experiences. “Light art is an accessible and immersive medium, affording sensory, colourful and atmospheric experiences which can be enjoyed by everyone,” Howes said.
Government figures show museums and galleries outside London recorded 5.2 million visits in the 2024-25 financial year, part of a broader recovery trend for regional cultural sites following pandemic disruptions. The Light joins existing northeast England events such as the Lumiere Festival in building the area’s profile as a destination for innovative art programming. Tony Guillan, involved in the project, highlighted the range of voices in the opening exhibition from major international names to regional and underrepresented artists. Future plans include an After Dark late-night series launching in October that will combine art, music and drinks on the first Friday of each month.
