Middlesex University Talent Shines at Barnet's Light and Flight Festival
Students and graduates showcase immersive installations, historical photography, and animation celebrating Barnet's heritage.
By Oliver Hargreaves
••4 min read
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Generic image of a vintage camera lens with blurred historical photographs and animated light trails.
Middlesex University students and graduates are showcasing their talents at Barnet’s Light and Flight festival this November, featuring immersive installations, historical photography, and animation that bring the borough’s heritage to life.
The festival, a major borough-wide arts and cultural programme, sees Middlesex collaborating on exhibitions and interactive visual displays that celebrate Barnet’s history through creative and community projects.
A centrepiece of the programme is Ascendance, an immersive installation by artist Matthew Rosier. This artwork features video portraits of young people from Barnet, appearing to float in mid-air, incorporating audio stories of their migratory journeys. The piece was created with over 100 local residents.
Elijah Makoma, a Middlesex film graduate who served as cinematographer on Ascendance, collaborated with Rosier on the visual effects. Technical tutor Sam Wibberley constructed the filming rig and assisted with design solutions.
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"Matthew communicated his vision pretty well; how he wanted the projections to go, how massive it was supposed to be and how he wanted them to be floating.
I knew exactly what to do in terms of the lighting, and the different objects that would be in frame, and the specific vision he had. The chemistry we built there was fantastic because of how we worked together."
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"I’ve worked a lot with creatives and with artists, and something that we do a lot at Middlesex is making those dreams practical or facilitating that creative practice.
It's nice for Middlesex to be front and centre with some of these big projects, and people see what we do and can maybe come to us to learn, to think; yes, I want to do that."
The festival also includes From Barnet with Love at the RAF Museum, a project led by artist Emma Tominey. In collaboration with Middlesex Graphic Design and Illustration students, the project created a rephotography archive of historic images of the borough, with students revisiting original locations to photograph them as they appear today. The project was delivered with Woven Ink.
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"The students have made a genuine contribution to From Barnet with Love, brought their own creativity, personality and perspective to the project, and I hope it has given them greater confidence in the value of their own creative practice and the possibilities available to them beyond graduation."
Lauren Pinnock, a second-year BA Illustration student, described her internship experience: “This internship was extra special to me: there were loads of attendees in their senior years and it was so lovely to hear their stories, personal memories and what their postcards represented. I got hands on experience with how to manage an activity within participatory arts and landed my first ever commission.”
Pioneering Stories, another exhibition at the RAF Museum, features four animated films produced by Middlesex BA Animation students. These films are based on the biographies of influential historical figures who lived in Barnet.
Alejandro Villamel, a final-year BA Animation student, produced a stop-motion 2D animated film hybrid about Edmundo Ross, who grew up in the Barnet area.
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"I got to work with four other very talented animators to produce an animated short based on Edmundo Ross who grew up in the Barnet area. We produced a stop motion 2D animated film hybrid showing his life."
As part of Pioneering Stories, Middlesex Animation lecturer Sam Summers will collaborate with the Phoenix Cinema and the BFI on a screening event celebrating pioneering animator Lotte Reiniger, a Barnet resident. The event marks the centenary of The Adventures of Prince Ahmed, the oldest surviving animated feature film.
Dr Helen Bendon, Deputy Dean for Arts and Education at Middlesex University, commented on the project: “Light and Flight has been a wonderfully collaborative project with the commissioned artists, the local authority, our creative colleagues and students. This is a great example of how higher education, industry and community can come together to benefit all involved.”
Based on information from the official source: Middlesex University (12/11/2026)
