Air Giants | Hothouse

Air Giants are taking over Cole Store — the old John Lewis building in the city centre — from Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 October. It's a free exhibition, part of the Sensoria Film & Music Festival, and it's built around six interactive plant sculptures, each standing 2.5 metres tall. They're brought to life through movement, light, air and Air Giants' robotic technology, and you're invited to wander through and see how each one moves, all set within a robotic environment of colour and movement. It's aimed at all ages, so it's as much for taking the kids as it is for going on your own.

The whole thing sits inside the Sensoria festival, which this year is built around the 50th anniversary of Mort Garson's Mother Earth's Plantasia. That was a Moog synthesiser record from 1976, originally given away for free with mattresses at Sears and with foliage bought at the Mother Earth store in Los Angeles. Festival director Jo Wingate says the Plantasia theme reflects Sheffield's independent spirit and celebrates the city as a green one, and the Air Giants installation carries that right into the room.

There's a bit more to it than just the sculptures, too. On Sunday 25 October, the exhibition adds Concerteenies, a performance featuring Polly Ives, Kate Griffin and Ford Collier. If you're planning to catch that, you'll want to head in on the Sunday rather than the earlier days.

Entry is free throughout. From Thursday 22 to Saturday 24 October, it's open 10:00 to 15:30, and on Sunday 25 October from 12:00 to 15:30.