Fine art graduate Anya Thompson wins commission for Light Night Leeds 2025

This year’s Light Night Leeds features a shadow-based light artwork by BA Fine Art graduate Anya Thompson, inspired by the rabbits that inhabit the University of Leeds campus.

The UK’s largest annual arts and light festival, Light Night Leeds, will return on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 October. 

For the past 20 years, over two nights in October, some of Leeds’s most recognisable indoor and outdoor spaces have been transformed by spectacular artworks and captivating performances by local, national and international artists. 

Commissioned by the Cultural Institute, Anya Thompson’s installation is one of a number of initiatives at this year’s Light Night activity across the University of Leeds. 

The University Zone will transform the heart of campus with a host of large-scale light installations, immersive experiences and participatory activities for families. Visitors will be invited to step into a world of glowing butterflies, peacock lanterns, giant neurons and projection-mapped Kashmiri textiles – plus Diwali celebrations, carnival processions, indoor activities, and places to eat and relax.

Visitors to the University of Leeds campus for Light Night Leeds 2025 can find out more at openup.leeds.ac.uk

Anya Thompson is an artist based in Leeds and West Cumbria who creates work that examines how human perception shapes our understanding of nature. Using natural and self-made materials – primarily charcoal – she highlights repeating patterns across different scales, inviting a deeper appreciation for the environment and its cycles. 

Anya graduated from the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies with a BA Fine Art in July 2025. For the final year degree show – Make No Bones – Thompson showcased a piece titled Death Spiral, which explores patterns that repeat throughout nature, from the minute to the cosmic. 

For this year’s Light Night Leeds, Anya has created ‘A Midnight Hop’ – a shadow-based light artwork inspired by the rabbits that inhabit the University of Leeds campus.

This joyful installation will be projected onto the Michael Sadler building, forming a magical walkway of leaping rabbits darting across a starry night sky. 

Anya Thompson, A Midnight Hop, 2025. Image courtesy of the artist.

Anya’s installation joins several other student and graduate pieces on campus for Light Night 2025: 

‘New Home Makers’ is an installation featuring an intriguing village of fairy-sized homes, created by Joyce Nga Lee Yu, a PhD student in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries and an award-winning international theatre director. Visitors can open the door of each glowing house to hear stories and songs by the “new home makers” of migration and making a new home in Leeds. 

Recut, Retake, Regrow is a major new projection-mapped installation by Hannah Sabapathy, an artist and postdoctoral student from the School of Design whose practice focuses on pattern and colour. Created in collaboration with Urban Projections artist Rebecca Smith, and supported by Leeds University Libraries’ Cultural Collections, the work will animate the façade of the Laidlaw Library with finely detailed Kashmiri textile patterns held in the University’s Cultural Collections. 

‘How to Build a Metronome’ is a reflective live music installation by percussionist and recent BA Music graduate, Ashruta Mani, who is a recipient of the 2025 Berkofsky Award. Ashruta worked with lighting designer and recent MMus Critical and Experimental Composition graduate Callie O’Brien to develop the piece, which uses an array of percussion instruments, centred around the rich percussive sound of a bell metronome, stretching and distorting the perception of time.

Anya Thompson, Death Spiral (2025). On display in Project Space in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies for the BA Fine Art Degree Show 2025, Make No Bones, in June 2025. Photo by Andy Lord.

Anya Thompson said: 

“A Midnight Hop was my first experience creating a light-based artwork. 

“My practice has previously been more two-dimensional, working primarily on canvas or paper, so this shift towards something more immersive and experiential was an exciting new challenge. 

“I wanted to make something that anyone could enjoy without needing any prior knowledge of the art world, and was particularly interested in encouraging a magical experience for families. From this, the idea of a walkway lit by silhouettes of rabbits dancing and leaping through a starry sky was born.

“The rabbits themselves were inspired by those often seen around the University of Leeds campus. Ultimately, I hope the work draws attention to our local wildlife in a positive way, encouraging a sense of wonder, curiosity, and care for the natural world, particularly amongst younger visitors.

“It’s such an honour to have been selected for Light Night Leeds 2025, and I can’t wait to see ‘A Midnight Hop’ come to life alongside so many incredible artworks by students and artists across the city.”

Anya Thompson, Dust and Light, 2025. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Nichola Casse, Project Manager at the Cultural Institute, said: 

“We’re thrilled to support Anya Thompson’s debut light-based artwork through the Cultural Institute’s commissioning programme.

“A Midnight Hop is a joyful and imaginative piece that beautifully reflects the spirit of Light Night Leeds – accessible, playful and rooted in the local environment. It’s wonderful to see a recent graduate creating work that invites families and visitors of all ages to experience the campus in a new and magical way. 

“The Cultural Institute is committed to supporting emerging talent and creating opportunities for students and graduates to showcase their creativity in public, professional contexts. These commissions not only help artists build confidence and experience, but also enrich the cultural life of the University and the city. 

“Light Night Leeds is a brilliant platform for this kind of work – it brings together thousands of people to celebrate art in unexpected places, and we’re proud to see our students contributing to such a vibrant and inclusive event.”

Anya Thompson's Death Spiral (2025) on display with a range of work by other artists in Project Space for the BA Fine Art Degree Show 2025, Make No Bones, in June 2025. Photo by Andy Lord.

Anna Douglas, Lecturer in Fine Art in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, said:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for recent graduate Anya to receive a commission to make work for this regionally significant cultural event. 

“It receives such an enthusiastic public response which is invaluable for an emerging artist.”

Inside Ed Green’s Shed Light at the Sardines BA fine Art Degree Show, University of Leeds, June 2024. Photo © Ed Green.

This is the third time that fine art students from the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies have been successful in winning Cultural Institute commissions for Light Night Leeds. 

Last year, ‘Shed Light’ by Ed Green (BA Fine Art 2024) brought to the festival an imaginative structure constructed from found and recycled materials, including windows, mirrors and timber. 

In 2023, BA Fine Art (2023) alumna Hannah Guy’s projection piece brought a poem by Zaffar Kunial to life in ‘Light Can Also Rhyme’. Projected onto the School of Chemisty building at the University of Leeds, it was co-created alongside visual artist and technician Katherine Lacey, with music composed by Ashruta Mani, a student in the School of Music. Ashruta is presenting new work on campus for this year’s Light Night Leeds.

Hannah Guy's Light can also Rhyme, projected onto a building on the University of Leeds campus for Light Night 2023. co-created alongside Katherine Lacey and with music composed by Ashruta Mani. Photo by Hannah Guy.

More information 

Light Night Leeds takes place on Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 October 2025 in various locations across Leeds between 6pm and 10pm. Find out more about Light Night Leeds 2025.

Discover the University Zone at Light Night Leeds, featuring a range of large-scale light installations, immersive experiences and participatory activities.

Visit Anya Thompson’s ‘A Midnight Hop’ on the University of Leeds campus.

Follow Anya Thompson on Instagram @anyathomps.

Feature image

Progress picture for Anya Thompson’s ‘A Midnight Hop’ for Light Night Leeds 2025. Courtesy of the artist.