Projects & approach
Designed around your building.
Light of Stars is shaped around the architecture, the people who use the building and what you want the season to make possible.
Bath Abbey
Winter 2024/25
The first full Light of Stars installation showed how a carefully placed constellation could change the experience of a historic building while remaining part of its everyday life.
The installation was designed around the Abbey's height, long views, stonework and stained glass. In daylight the craft remained visible. After dark the same stars gave the building a different character.
Visitors, worship and seasonal activity continued beneath the installation, while the stars also created a setting for new gatherings, performance and shared moments.
At the heart of the display, the Advent Star illuminated the Abbey's nativity scene as a symbol of hope, unity and peace.
“What an inspirational sight. Such beauty in simplicity. Stunning. Capturing the message of Advent and Christmas. This will be a memory which stays with everyone.”Bath Abbey clergy
Explore the installation
Step inside Bath Abbey.
Use the 360° view to look around the nave and see how Light of Stars sits within the architecture.
Interactive 360° view of Light of Stars at Bath Abbey.
A long-standing Paper Starlights philosophy
Under the Same Sky of Stars.
Under the Same Sky of Stars has long expressed why Paper Starlights works with stars: they can bring together people of different faiths, generations and backgrounds without asking them to become the same.
Light of Stars carries that philosophy into remarkable public spaces. In Bath, it could be experienced through worship, ordinary visits, Bath Lights the Night, local musicians, community participation and people gathering beneath one shared sky.
The same philosophy can shape each project differently. A cathedral, heritage building or civic space can use the installation to create moments of reflection, celebration, participation and connection that belong to its own community.
Different people. Different reasons for gathering. Under the same stars.
“It’s like being amongst the angels.”Visitor to Light of Stars
“To give us a sense of being a part of a wider universe.”Rev Stephen Girling, Bath Abbey Missioner
Could it work in your building?
Bath Abbey is evidence of the approach, not a template.
Every Light of Stars project starts again with the building in front of us: its scale, sightlines, normal use, technical constraints and the people who gather there.
You do not need to know how many stars you want or exactly where they should hang. Photographs, rough dimensions and likely dates are enough to begin exploring what might suit the space.
Upcoming installation · winter 2026/27
Leicester Cathedral
Leicester Cathedral is building a season around Light of Stars, combining everyday visiting and worship with talks, music, film, dance, heritage activity, community events and after-hours experiences.
The programme shows what an installation can unlock. Once the stars are in place, the building has a distinctive visual setting that can support many different audiences and events without rebuilding the space each time.
Events Under the Stars™
The installation can become the thread that joins a season together.
Performance, learning, community activity, hospitality and ticketed events can all sit beneath Light of Stars.
That means music, clergy, learning, events and community teams can each keep their own role while working within one shared seasonal idea. Events Under the Stars™ has its own site, with Leicester's forthcoming programme showing how broad that mix can be.
Suitable spaces
Made for remarkable public spaces.
Light of Stars is particularly suited to buildings with scale, architectural character and a public purpose.
Creates a seasonal setting for worship, visitors, music and new programming while the normal life of the building continues.
Uses light and craft to reveal historic interiors and create new ways for visitors to experience familiar architecture.
Creates a strong visual environment for exhibitions, learning, evening openings and programmed cultural activity.
Provides a shared focal point for celebration, community participation and cultural moments that bring people together.
How a project develops
We make the process straightforward.
Initial conversation
Photographs, dimensions, likely dates and a sense of how the building is used are enough to start. You do not need a finished brief.
Site and design development
We consider scale, hanging positions, sightlines, access, technical requirements and the opportunities for events, community activity and programming.
Installation planning
We work with the venue and competent technical partners to agree fixing points, rigging responsibilities, lighting, installation and removal.
A season under the stars
Once installed, the stars can support normal opening while also creating a setting for additional events, performances and experiences throughout the agreed period.
Now taking bookings
Light of Stars bookings are open for 2028 and 2029.
Planning early gives us time to understand the building, develop the installation with your team and coordinate the practical work properly. You do not need a finished brief to begin.