WATCH: These glowing beacons brought a local artist a royal award

• See how these beacons bring people together
• They change colour based on people's proximity to each other

A local artist has been recognized for a special participatory project that brings people together through light.

Melany Nugent-Noble, Kelowna’s first artist in residence, has received a Lieutenant-Governor’s Arts and Music Award in the Visual Arts category for her glowing dodecahedrons, that were part of two projects over 2020 and 2021.

The one-time awards, part of the commemoration of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, recognize individuals, groups and organizations who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, creativity, community engagement, passion or commitment to fostering and mentoring others in the fields of visual arts, music or performance.

What started from an idea five years ago required many steps, Nugent-Noble told Kelowna10.

“It was like ‘ok, how do I make this happen?’ I had to learn the technology, I had to figure out what these beacons will look like and see if the idea and the way community engages with them is what I envisioned,” she said. “They ended up taking the form of dodecahedron’s (a polyhedron with 12 flat faces) and then testing it or activating it with the community allowed me to fully realize the project with the city.”

Recently the glowing beacons were displayed in Halifax, Nova Scotia for the Nocturn Festival.

So how do these 30 unique objects work? They were loaned to groups of up to 25 people for three days at a time. The participants would move around, and the beacons would communicate with each other. The objects respond to the proximity and movement of other beacons by shining brighter when they’re closer, and dimmer when they’re further apart.

They also change colours based on the number of beacons nearby. Participants engage with others through the different colours and the intensity of light from their beacon.

There are two types that were created by Nugent-Noble. One, which is 3-D printed, is electronic with batteries and GPS and can respond to its environment. The other is hand-poured and sits on a special platform that gives off light.

She said it’s always been her goal to get the community involved and she achieved it when she gained her residency.

In explaining what the project is all about, Nugent-Noble said it’s a metaphor for people to realize their interconnectedness with the community from people they may not have met before. During the COVID-19 pandemic she said that people were feeling a need to have connection to the community. That’s where her beacons added some light in some dark times.

“More than a few people said that having a beacon with them and watching it change colours as people were moving around them…helped them feel less anxious and made them feel more grounded and still connected,” she said. “There seemed to be a real comfort for folks to having them in a mental health aspect which is important.”

Looking to the future, her goal is to produce maker kits so anyone can build their own beacon and engage on a global scale.

There are works of hers currently at the Rotary Centre for the Arts at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art.

Lieutenant-Governor’s Arts and Music Awards also went to two different groups: Ballet Kelowna for Creative Okanagan.