Eye Music and Cwmni Colourscape

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Cwmni Colourscape is the partnership of Peter Jones and Lynne Dickens, who create Colourscapes. Peter Jones developed the first Colourscape structures in 1974. Colourscapes were preceded by 'Spaceplaces' from 1963, which were installations of coloured surfaces made inside buildings. In 1970 they became open-air structures. Experiments with air-inflated sculpture gave new possibilities of working directly with colour. Early structures used large primary colour chambers interconnected by tubes.

Subsequently, many different Colourscapes have been made, growing more complex in colour relationships. Cwmni Colourscape have several Colourscape structures, which they show at festivals and other events in the UK and abroad.

Cwmni Colourscape also creates and makes other structures - tensile canopies, wind sculptures and giant bubbles, all of which have generated and been part of many events. Many people have been trained with Cwmni Colourscape to make structures, to develop colour workshops and to run Colourscape shows.

The collaboration between Cwmni Colourscape and Eye Music Trust dates back to 1989 when we were invited to make a music presentation at London's South Bank Centre, using a Colourscape as the venue, and this led to the formation of the first Colourscape Music Festival on Clapham Common.

In 1994-5 the Trust commissioned a completely new Colourscape structure, designed especially for performance, with funding from Foundation for Sport and the Arts, and the National Lottery. In 2002 a second Colourscape (our Festival Two) was commissioned with Arts Council lottery funding. Both are used in the UK and abroad. In 2005 the ColourDome was constructed, further enhancing the range of possible installations.

In 2009 further grants enabled Eye Music Trust to commission and run a new Colourscape (called Moonorooni) designed for workshops with disabled children.  This new Colourscape with a Silver Music Dome has greatly increased the opportunities for presenting workshops and events throughout the UK. The advantages of this 25-chamber Colourscape are that it fits on a greater number of smaller sites; we can install the same day that we show; it has a large number of secondary colours; and it is very suitable for workshops and one-day shows.

The collaboration extends beyond the commissioning of Colourscape structures.For example, our workshops in colour, which take place in Colourscape, have evolved from direct collaboration with the Colourscape artists; and Peter Jones is a significant partner in the Fabulous Sound Machines exhibitions.