2,000 Pigeons Wearing LED Lights Illuminate the East River Sky in a Beautifully Coordinated Flight

The Creator’s Project recently spoke with artist and pigeon fancier Duke Riley about his newest and biggest project to date. Entitled “Fly by Night“, Riley is collaborating with Creative Time to present an ongoing aerial show that features 2,000 flight pigeons tagged with tiny LED leg band lights to illuminate the sky over the Brooklyn Navy Yard at dusk.

Friday through Sunday evenings at dusk, a massive flock of pigeons will elegantly twirl, swoop, and glide above the East River, as Riley orchestrates a series of performances occurring regularly throughout late spring. At the call of a whistle, thousands of birds will emerge from their home in a grand, converted historic boat docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The pigeons will circle above the river as the sun sets over Manhattan, and small leg bands, historically used to carry messages, will be replaced with tiny LED lights, illuminating the sky in a transcendent union of public art and nature.

The show runs weekends May 7 through June 12, 2016.

Riley and Tofu the pigeon.

Excellent footage of the most recent show masterfully captured by Pablo Gomez Uribe

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

Recent Posts