There is just under one month left to see the earth in a free exhibition at Millennium Point. To celebrate a fantastic first month, Millennium Point’s CEO Abbie Vlahakis caught up with the Artist behind Gaia, Luke Jerram to chat more about the piece and his inspirations behind it.

Gaia will be at Millennium Point until the 28^th March. The free to attend event requires no booking and is open everyday to the public until 11pm. Hundreds of people from across Birmingham and the wider region have marvelled at the breath-taking earth artwork, which combines NASA satellite imagery with an awe-inspiring soundtrack to invoke a sense of profound love for the earth.

‘A long-term relationship with Millennium Point’

This isn’t the first time Luke Jerram’s work has visited Millennium Point – in 2005 120 guests packed into Thinktank Science Museum for a mass experimental concert that lasted throughout the night. Then again in 2017, Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon visited Thinktank which was accompanied by a musical composition created award-winning composer Dan Jones.

Gaia and Millennium Point

We wanted everyone to have a memorable time at Millennium Point during Gaia. That’s why, along with the breath-taking Gaia, we unveiled an exciting events programme.

We had date night sorted with a special Valentine’s screening of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet with prosecco. Guests enjoyed their drinks while gazing at Gaia before their film started.

There was plenty of fun for families too, with a series of special film screenings during February half-term. On Friday 25^th February, we got ready to go ‘under the sea’ and enjoyed Disney classic The Little Mermaid on the big screen. And on Saturday 26^th February, youngsters watched an adventure of a lifetime with a screening of fan favourite Moana.

The fun didn’t stop there, throughout half-term, Millennium Point, in partnership with Thinktank Science Museum ran a series of interactive drop-in sessions for families and children, hosted under Gaia. From fun-filled experiments and activities to demonstrations and performances, the programme highlighted the fascinating world of environmental science and the actions we can all take to help protect the planet.

For a quiet getaway, Maria Widdows guided yoga sessions under Gaia. We joined her as she led a grounding, balancing yoga practice. The sessions were enjoyed were enjoyed by yoga enthusiasts as well as newbies to the practice.

And lastly, on coming up on Saturday 19^th March, visitors can see the world in a whole new light, as they enjoy Silent Disco under Gaia. Millennium Point have teamed up with silent disco experts Silent Noize, to give visitors the best night of music from rock, indie, and power ballads to RnB, hip-hop and old skool classics.

An unimaginable view amongst the stars, all from the comfort of Earth

Gaia will be at Millennium Point until 28^th March for all to see. It’s free to attend, with no booking necessary. Plan your visit now and don’t miss out, we can’t wait to see you!

With awareness on the environment ever increasing, it is no surprise that people are now looking at ways to be more sustainable at Christmas.

From Christmas tree choices, to making your own advent calendar, we look at ways you can be more eco-friendly without ruining the festivities this season.

Rent a real tree for the festive season

A tree shouldn’t just be for Christmas, GWP found that as many as 8 million Christmas trees are thrown away each year. This includes 14 per cent of people who will even be binning their fake Christmas tree. Fake Christmas trees are made up of plastic and metals, therefore often can’t be recycled.

For next year, if your fake Christmas tree is in good condition, why not donate it to a charity shop and opt for a real tree instead? Simply Plants and Love a Christmas Tree, both offer tree renting services, enjoy the tree for Christmas and after, it gets planted back in the ground for Spring.

If you have bought a real Christmas tree this season, don’t worry, Birmingham City Council offer tree recycling which is free. Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice Treecycling also offer the service, although free, a donation of £10 is recommended, with all proceeds going to St Mary’s Hospice.

Make your home merry and bright with LED lights

Being sustainable doesn’t mean your home has to be dark and gloomy this Christmas. Choose LED lights to hang on your tree, LED lights use 80-90% less energy than non-LED, the cost of powering them is less too.

There’s lots of LED light options to choose from this Christmas, so you’ll be spoilt for choice!

Get creative with your wrapping paper

The amount of wrapping paper thrown away at Christmas in the UK alone would stretch to the moon, according to estimates by recycling advisors WRAP. That’s 225,623 miles of wrapping paper!

The problem with wrapping paper is often due to the foils, dyes, and paper it’s printed on which makes it unable to be recycled. There is alternative paper that can be used such as kraft paper, although brown, why not customise it with reusable ribbons and patterned biodegradable zero plastic Sellotape.

Replace your throwaway advent calendar for a reusable one

Advent calendars and selection boxes add to the three million tonnes of extra plastic waste created every year during the festive period in the UK.

There are lots of ways to get a reusable advent calendar, support independent businesses and find one on Etsy. Or if creativity is your thing, upcycle old items to make your very own.  You can fill it with chocolates, make-up, whatever you want!

Eat sustainably without cutting out on quality

During Christmas, 2 million turkeys, 5 million Christmas puddings, and 74 million mince pies get disposed while still edible, causing almost 270,000 tons of food waste in total during the festive season.

Earlier this year we wrote a blog about sustainable supermarkets to try in Greater Birmingham. There are also lots of other ways to eat more sustainable this Christmas.

Try planning your shopping for the winter break to avoid over buying and only buy what you plan to eat. Organise your fridge so you can store food properly, so it will last longer and not get spoilt. If you have leftover untouched food and it’s in date, look for a food bank to donate it to during the Winter to help others.

Millennium Point and sustainability

This Christmas we have looked at how we can enjoy a sustainable Christmas, continuing our journey to be more eco-friendly.  For example, our 39ft Christmas tree, which is rented, is fitted out with LED lights.

We have also placed a range of processes to ensure we’re not adding to our carbon footprint. Energy management and the journey to net zero carbon are at the heart of all our decisions. We try not to create waste but where we do, we segregate and recycle as much as we can. Lastly, we encourage staff, tenants, and visitors to make green travel choices when visiting us.

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint. Millennium Point is a landmark public building and multi-award-winning events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City centre. Profits from our commercial activity are invested by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands. 

Experience Earth like never before at Birmingham’s landmark city centre venue with Luke Jerram’s breath-taking Gaia. Millennium Point are delighted to be able to host the spectacular live art installation. Showing from 1^st February to 28^th March 2022 the unmissable sight will also be accompanied with a schedule bursting with exciting activities.

This 8-week installation of Luke Jerram’s Gaia artwork is our latest initiative to help entertain, educate, and inspire local communities. 

An unimaginable view amongst the stars, all from the comfort of Earth

Luke Jerram is a British artist that creates sculptures, installations, and live art projects. Having more than 600 exhibitions in 44 countries, he is now known globally for his innovative arts practice and large-scale public artworks.

Luke Jerram’s Gaia aims to create the Overview Effect, but for people standing on Earth. First coined by author Frank White it features the experience that astronauts feel in space. Feelings of awe, an understanding of the interconnection of all life, and a sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment.

Hoping that it engages and starts the conversation on what we can do to protect our fragile blue planet, the travelling artwork also acts as a mirror to major events in society. Throughout the current COVID-19 pandemic, and after lockdown there has been a renewed respect for nature. Viewers may also gain a new perspective from Gaia, that everyone is all interconnected and have a responsibility toward one another.

The 7m in diameter artwork is 1.8 million times smaller than the real Earth with each centimetre of the internally lit sculpture describing 18km of the Earth’s surface. By standing 211m away from Gaia, the public will be able to see the Earth as it appears from the moon. Gaia will slowly revolve and be accompanied by a specially created composition by BAFTA award winning composer Dan Jones.

Sustainability is a journey not a destination  

As an award-winning landmark building, it is vital to do our part to aim to be as sustainable as possible. As times have changed, Millennium Point have adapted to try and become greener to protect are planet and promote the importance of sustainability. Having Gaia at Millennium Point we hope it transfers the same thought-provoking action that is needed to make a change.

You can find out more about our sustainability pledge here.

Make your event stand out with Gaia 

Luke Jerram’s Gaia will be at Millennium Point for 8-weeks from Tuesday 1st February until Monday 28th March 2022, giving plenty of time for all to enjoy. Take advantage by hosting your event at Millennium Point during this period to give your guests a wow factor at no additional cost. Gaia is a unique piece that is sure to drive attendee numbers and spark conversations, while making your event one to remember. There is also an opportunity to upgrade your booking to include a welcome reception under Gaia, to greet guests in a way that is literally out of this world!

Discover more about our versatile spaces that are suitable for both public and private events here.

The Gaia exhibition is free and open to the public during standard Millennium Point opening hours from 2^nd February to 28^th March. More details on our exciting programme will be released in early 2022. You can keep up to date on the latest Gaia news with by signing up to our mailing list.

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint. Millennium Point is a landmark public building and multi-award-winning events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City centre. Profits from our commercial activity are invested by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands.