Touching Lightly

ACT Government Public Art at Canberra Glassworks

A landmark glass tower that symbolises the heritage of Canberra’s oldest public building, the Kingston Powerhouse, home to Canberra Glassworks, was unveiled on the Kingston Foreshore on 21 May 2010 by Chief Minister and Minister for the Arts and Heritage Jon Stanhope.

Touching Lightly, by internationally-recognised Australian artist Warren Langley, is a 25-metre high internally-lit tower that shimmers during the day and glows with blue lights at night, powered by green energy. The tower rises from the base of the former powerhouse smokestack, Mr Stanhope said the artwork was designed to evoke the Powerhouse’s previous 35 metre-high steel chimney. Built between 1913 and 1915, the Powerhouse supplied Canberra with coal-generated electricity until 1957.

The artwork consists of a galvanised steel frame surrounded by toughened glass and rings of LED lights. Its components were fabricated in Sydney and assembled in Canberra with the help of local artists and traders.

Warren Langley is one of Australia’s most acclaimed artists working with glass and light. He has completed major international and national commissions and his work appears throughout the world.

This landmark project was jointly funded by the ACT Government, ActewAGL and the Land Development Agency.