Artwork created by children in foster care across Leeds will be transformed into illuminated neon displays for Light Night Leeds on 28 and 29 October.
Four light installations will be installed on lampposts along Cookridge Street, featuring drawings selected from Foster 4 Leeds' Summer Drawing Challenge. The pieces capture moments including feeding ducks, playing in the park, days at the beach and holiday sunsets.
The displays will remain on show beyond the festival weekend as part of the city's Christmas illuminations this year.
New partnership for the council's fostering service
The project marks the first collaboration between Leeds City Council's fostering service and Light Night Leeds, which attracts around 200,000 visitors to the city centre annually. It is also the first time Leeds Lights — the council's in-house lighting design and manufacturing department — has created an installation for the festival.
A foster carer's story
One artwork was created by a young person cared for by Marie Procter, a foster carer for 36 years. The child drew a beach scene with palm trees, sea and sunshine, inspired by a summer holiday in Croatia — their first holiday together.
Marie said the drawing challenge gave children the opportunity to reflect on summer activities and what mattered most to them. "It was amazing to see them really grow and flourish," she said. "It's a memory that keeps being brought up so I know it meant a lot to them."
Marie also works as a hub home carer for a Mockingbird hub — a network of local foster families who support one another — and other children from the network whose work will also feature in the light display.
"They are all really excited to go and see the lights," Marie said. "This goes beyond any prize — it's something that they've created that they get to see and know everyone is also going to see."
Recruiting more foster carers in Leeds
The light installation will include a QR code directing visitors to information about fostering, in an effort to raise awareness and recruit more foster carers. Leeds currently has 700 carers but more people are urgently needed to provide children with safe and stable homes.
No special qualifications are required to become a foster carer. Prospective carers must be over 21, have a spare room and be able to offer a safe, caring home. Different options are available, and fostering does not have to be a full-time commitment.
Marie encouraged people to consider fostering. "I would definitely recommend foster caring. I think it's amazing — the children are amazing. It's so worthwhile," she said.
Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council's executive member for children and families, said: "It's incredibly exciting to be able to link our foster families up with such a spectacular event as Light Night Leeds and to literally see the children's artwork go up in lights will be magical."
For information about fostering opportunities in Leeds, visit foster4.leeds.gov.uk. The full Light Night Leeds programme is available at lightnightleeds.co.uk.