Client
Bolton Town Council / Things That Go On Things
Location
Bolton, United Kingdom
Client
Bolton Town Council / Things That Go On Things
Location
Bolton, United Kingdom
Project Details
YARN is a stunning large-scale projection on Bolton’s iconic Town Hall, created by NOVAK featuring music by Ed Carter. This installation transforms the building into a series of captivating scenes filled with vibrant colour, dynamic motion, and immersive sound. The artwork honours Bolton’s rich history, tracing its journey from a small rural market town to a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution, transforming working practices across the globe. It highlights the vibrant production of the town’s mills and the work of its renowned designers, while also showcasing some of Bolton’s most cherished landmarks and its current role as Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture.
Project Details
YARN is a stunning large-scale projection on Bolton’s iconic Town Hall, created by NOVAK featuring music by Ed Carter. This installation transforms the building into a series of captivating scenes filled with vibrant colour, dynamic motion, and immersive sound. The artwork honours Bolton’s rich history, tracing its journey from a small rural market town to a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution, transforming working practices across the globe. It highlights the vibrant production of the town’s mills and the work of its renowned designers, while also showcasing some of Bolton’s most cherished landmarks and its current role as Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture.



The Brief
In 2024 Bolton was awarded the accolade of Greater Manchester Town of Culture and across those 12 months they hosted an extensive programme of cultural events and activities. As a culmination to this exciting year of events, Bolton Town Council in collaboration with creative producers, Things That Go On Things, hosted a festival of light art, Put Big Light On. As a centerpiece to this 4 day event, NOVAK was commissioned to create a projection artwork across Bolton’s neoclassical Town Hall. This piece was to explore and celebrate Bolton’s origins, it’s history and the contemporary landscape of this great town. Critical to the artistic response of this brief was the means of how we could realise our vision across this highly detailed building and fully exploit all of the amazing architectural features of Bolton Town Hall as a complete canvas. Expert technical design would prove to be an essential component to achieving our ambitious vision
The Brief
In 2024 Bolton was awarded the accolade of Greater Manchester Town of Culture and across those 12 months they hosted an extensive programme of cultural events and activities. As a culmination to this exciting year of events, Bolton Town Council in collaboration with creative producers, Things That Go On Things, hosted a festival of light art, Put Big Light On. As a centerpiece to this 4 day event, NOVAK was commissioned to create a projection artwork across Bolton’s neoclassical Town Hall. This piece was to explore and celebrate Bolton’s origins, it’s history and the contemporary landscape of this great town. Critical to the artistic response of this brief was the means of how we could realise our vision across this highly detailed building and fully exploit all of the amazing architectural features of Bolton Town Hall as a complete canvas. Expert technical design would prove to be an essential component to achieving our ambitious vision









Our Response
Initially inspired by a series of paintings found in the Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, depicting the town as it was before it’s boom period during the industrial revolution, and how that transformed the landscape into one filled with red brick mills, servicing the world's demand for cotton. NOVAK created a work that responded to the imposing architectural features of the Town Hall and transformed it into a sequence of colour and motion, that showed the growth of Bolton from a small rural market town into an industrial powerhouse, along with many of the town's iconic landmarks and most treasured artifacts. Accompanying the visuals was a newly devised score by Ed Carter, inspired by music composed by one of Bolton’s most celebrated residents, Samuel Crompton. This musical score was intertwined with intricate sound design that beautifully combined to augment the visuals and enhance the narratives being explored. To realise our ambitious designs, we devised an intricate technical design that enabled the visuals to warp around the elaborate features of the building, providing audiences with a seamless viewing experience.
Our Response
Initially inspired by a series of paintings found in the Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, depicting the town as it was before it’s boom period during the industrial revolution, and how that transformed the landscape into one filled with red brick mills, servicing the world's demand for cotton. NOVAK created a work that responded to the imposing architectural features of the Town Hall and transformed it into a sequence of colour and motion, that showed the growth of Bolton from a small rural market town into an industrial powerhouse, along with many of the town's iconic landmarks and most treasured artifacts. Accompanying the visuals was a newly devised score by Ed Carter, inspired by music composed by one of Bolton’s most celebrated residents, Samuel Crompton. This musical score was intertwined with intricate sound design that beautifully combined to augment the visuals and enhance the narratives being explored. To realise our ambitious designs, we devised an intricate technical design that enabled the visuals to warp around the elaborate features of the building, providing audiences with a seamless viewing experience.



Credits
Direction, design and animation: NOVAK
Additional design and illustration: Darryl Ibbeston
Music and Sound Design: Ed Carter
Technical Partner: Graymatter Video
Project Management: NOVAK
Event Photography: Joel Chester Fildes
Credits
Direction, design and animation: NOVAK
Additional design and illustration: Darryl Ibbeston
Music and Sound Design: Ed Carter
Technical Partner: Graymatter Video
Project Management: NOVAK
Event Photography: Joel Chester Fildes
Other projects
Performance and Theatre
The Paddington Bear Experience
Immersive Visitor Attraction, London

Performance and Theatre
The Paddington Bear Experience
Immersive Visitor Attraction, London

Installation and Exhibition
The Book of Kells Experience
Digital Exhibition, Trinity College Dublin

Installation and Exhibition
The Book of Kells Experience
Digital Exhibition, Trinity College Dublin
