Enter the Zone, battle with light, and then escape on your bike!

BikeTAG is a system of led lights, proximity sensors and a Smartphone application, originally created in 2012 by artists Bang & Lee, Tine Bech and Julian Sykes during the Playable City Sprint, hosted by Watershed and the British Council.

In a unique commission for Bristol Temple Quarter, the BikeTAG light system was used within an innovative street game that lit up Bristol’s Enterprise Zone. The new commission ‘Colour Keepers’ was designed to help re-invent perceptions of the Enterprise Zone - the area surrounding Bristol’s Temple Meads Station.

Part exploration, part battle, part collaboration, part art experience, Colour Keepers was a chance to play on bikes in the city, set colours free and co-create light trails using the BikeTAG light system. With five colours to set free, players explored the Zone as they battled to win.

The game ran at dusk on Sat 18 and Sun 19 May and was used as a public Play Test to gather feedback from players. This was the very first game created using the BikeTAG system, and the very first time it was played with a full line-up of participants.

Each of the artists who contributed to BikeTAG, have their own unique practice: Tine Bech is a visual artist and researcher based in London, her work centres on the creation of immersive, playful experiences; Julian Sykes is co-founder of Brand and strategy agency Hoffi, and also thinkARK, a voluntary social design group based in Cardiff; and Bang & Lee - Jayoung Bang and Yunjun Lee - from in Seoul in South Korea, travelled to Bristol to participate in Colour Keepers. Their visual artwork is dedicated to exploration of transformation and creation of cross-cultural participatory events, with emphasis on collaboration and friendship.

We put together this Storify, showcasing a selection of pics and tweets from the makers and players.

BikeTAG Play Test: Colour Keepers was supported by the British Council and is part of a series of Bristol Temple Quarter commissions coordinated by Watershed, Knowle West Media Centre and MAYK, with support from Bristol City Council and Arts Council England. The commissions pop up, excite and re-invent perceptions and potentials.