Green Street Glow Garden
A free light art experience for everyone
Photo by Sandra Ebert
12–16 February 2026 | 3-7pm
Queen's Square, Green Street, E13 9JJ
Overview
In February 2026, Culture Within Newham will transform Queen’s Square on Green Street into a world of light and imagination.
At the centre of the experience is Luma, a mesmerising soft-robotic creation by Air Giants. Towering, graceful and lit from within, Luma is a nine-metre long snail who responds gently to the people around her, inviting play and connection.
There will also be a whimsical garden of six interactive plant sculptures, each standing 2.5 metres tall.
What is Green Street Glow Garden?
As part of our mission to make creative experiences accessible for everyone, we’re bringing inspiring installations to the heart of the community.
Across five days, residents, families, and traders are invited to explore, play and encounter art in a space they know and love. All experiences are free and open to everyone, just turn up!
Green Street Glow Garden celebrates Newham’s creativity and vibrancy, bringing a fun, interactive moment to connect with art directly into a local public space.
What’s on?
Thursday 12 & Friday 13 Feb
Experience a dazzling dance of light-up butterflies! Beautiful butterfly puppets from Emergency Exit Arts are lit with sparkling LED lights which flutter above the audience.
LED Butterflies Performances
4.30pm and 5.45pm
Queen’s Square, E13 9JJ
Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 Feb
Get up close and personal with hummingbird stilt-walkers! The Hummingbirds are a pair of dramatic, bird-inspired performers on stilts. They will move around Luma and use puppetry to interact with the crowd, adding sparkle to our family-friendly, garden-themed event.
The Hummingbirds Performances
3.30, 4.30 and 5.45pm
Queen’s Square, E13 9JJ
Monday 16 Feb
Take part in a free, family-friendly crafting activity! Join Art in the Docks at Green Street Library to create bright nature-inspired models of flowers and vegetables, which can then be ‘fed’ to Luma the giant snail. Places are limited, book online.
Snacky Snail Craft Workshop
2 — 3.30pm
Green Street Library, 337-341 Green Street, E13 9AR
Photo by Paul Blakemore (Air Giants)
About Luma
Luma is a huge interactive robot—a nine-metre long, inflatable snail who loves an audience. She looms above visitors with a gentle, welcoming, and otherworldly presence. Luma is almost entirely made from fabric, allowing her movement to reflect the flexible and contorting motion within the animal kingdom.
Luma is a joyful and hopeful work that champions both nature and technology and reimagines what robots can be for.
Photo by Sandra Ebert (Air Giants)
About HOTHOUSE
HOTHOUSE is a garden of six interactive plant sculptures, each standing 2.5 metres tall. HOTHOUSE invites all ages to explore these other-worldly botanical specimens, experiencing their unique movements and immersing themselves in a vibrant, robotic environment filled with colour and motion.
This installation offers a delightful sensory adventure that captivates the imagination and brings a touch of magic, and an unforgettable experience for everyone.
Location
Green Street Glow Garden will be held in Queen’s Square, just in front of Queen’s Market in Upton Park.
The event will be easily accessible by public transport. The closest train station is Upton Park (District, Hammersmith & City Line).
About the project partners
Air Giants
Luma and Hothouse are artworks by Air Giants. Air Giants is a creative robotics studio building fantastic, enormous robotic creatures. The robots are bio-inspired, meaning their design and movement draw heavily from nature.
Air Giants are the first in the world to make interactive soft robotics at this scale, and the only people making them to show in public spaces. These are the biggest robots most people will ever encounter. Some are taller than double-decker buses, and they are all safe to approach, touch, and connect with. Their work gives people remarkable experiences with (quite literally) monumental inflatables.
Learn more on the Air Giants website.
Art in the Docks
Art in the Docks is an artist-led social enterprise based in the London Borough of Newham, focusing on community engagement and creative wellbeing. The organisation offers a range of creative activities, including painting, drawing, dance, performance, textile design, and more, aimed at reducing barriers to participation and fostering inclusivity.
Other projects you might be interested in
