The Milton Keynes Islamic Arts and Culture (MKIAC) organisation is excited to announce the return of the City of Codes and Light Festival, with various events running between the 1st to 22nd October. This year’s festival, Constellations of Stars: Echoes Across the Sky, brings together culture, science, and technology through symposiums, workshops, exhibitions and more.

Constellations of Stars: Echoes Across the Sky celebrates the work of Islamic astronomers like al-Sufi and Ali Qushji and invites visitors to experience the night sky as a collective story that spans cultures and generations. A highlight includes Twin Cities; an interactive installation connecting Milton Keynes with Türkiye through a shared screen. Audiences can engage with motion-reactive star maps and send messages across the sky to the partner site in Türkiye, forging a luminous dialogue that highlights our shared human heritage.

The City of Codes and Light festival kicks off on 1st October at Bletchley Park with a special launch event featuring a panel of distinguished speakers, including Dr. Alice Dumford a space instrumentalist and physicist and Ruhee S Kahar, a stellar astrophysics PhD student at the University of Dundee.

In addition, a free public screening of Hidden Figures will take place at Bletchley Park on a separate date. The film tells the inspiring story of the Black women mathematicians whose pioneering work was pivotal to NASA’s Apollo missions, highlighting extraordinary contributions that shaped space exploration.

On 4 October, the city will be transformed by an evening of light, music and community celebration. The night begins as Mind, a large-scale projection by multimedia creative studio Limbic Cinema, will illuminate the library with the story of astronomy, tracing a journey from ancient stargazers to modern discovery.

This will be followed by the annual Lantern Parade, created in collaboration with local school groups and led by artist Emma Garofalo, which will weave through the city. Handmade willow lanterns, inspired by the night sky, stars and constellations, will glow as they travel towards the next projection opposite the Milton Keynes Art Gallery.

Audiences will be invited to step into In Infinity, an interactive galaxy created in collaboration with students from the Open University. This immersive projection combines a solar system of stars with thermal imaging, turning every visitor into part of the constellation itself.

The evening will be accompanied by live music, and food stalls offering pizza, coffee, snacks and more, creating a festival of light, sound and community.

The festival culminates with a variety of activities on 21st to 22nd October including a musical performance, a second talk on astronomy from Ruhee S Kahar and a number of workshops and exhibition at centre:mk. The shopping centre will host interactive STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) workshops and an exhibition designed to inspire young people through coding, mathematics, and critical thinking. The exhibition will include the Twin Cities installation.

MKIAC Founder and Creative Director, Anouar Kassim, MBE shared: “This year, we invite communities, families and young people to come on a journey that rediscovers the sky as a shared human map. With events designed for all ages and backgrounds, the festival aims to unite the community, deepen understanding of astronomy and strengthen cultural diversity. The City of Codes and Light Festival 2025 celebrates how the stars connect us all - across time, space, and culture. It’s a moment to look up, together, and rethink our place in the universe.”

For the full schedule and more details, visit www.mkiac.org.