Conceived by Vaughn Sadie and initiated by LIGHT PLACE, Light Project focuses on preserving and celebrating local heritage in small towns. Taking traditional festival lighting as an inspiration, Light Project uses storytelling through oral histories as a departure point for creating narrative light installations in public spaces. LIGHT PLACE supports the development of a heritage festival to showcase the light installations and a month-long public programme of activities.

The process also has a focus on the inclusion of youth with skills development training, conducting research, collecting oral histories, and designing and producing heritage lights. In order to sustain momentum, Light Project focuses on establishing organisational structures that support enduring relationships for future projects. This is important for enabling adaptations as the community’s needs and interests evolve over time.

Light Project is currently located in two towns: Diazville and Piketberg.

‍

DIAZVILLE

A neighbourhood in Sadhana Bay in the Western Cape, was a product of forced removals during apartheid, where Coloured people were relocated from different places in the region. Due to the racial legacies of apartheid, Diazville faces many social and economic challenges such as housing shortages and a struggling fishing industry. It is also a community with a rich cultural heritage, deeply connected to the sea and being a coastal town, maritime history and traditions of Saldhana Bay

‍

PIKETBERG

A small town 80km inland from Diazville. The dominant heritage in the town celebrates its colonial and mission history, neglecting the cultural lives, histories and heritage of around 75% of its inhabitants. Coloured residents are the majority of the town and have played a central role in shaping the region’s agricultural economy and cultural identity. The Light Project highlights heritage is not merely about historical accuracy - it is a necessary act of redress and recognition.

The project will centre the histories, contributions, and lived experiences of Diazville and Piketberg’s Coloured communities to challenge exclusionary narratives and create pathways for greater cultural recognition and economic inclusion. Heritage should not solely be about preserving the past but also about shaping a more just and representative future.