STAR constellations will be mapped out on Oxford's city streets as part of an exciting new project to bring the community together.

The project - titled Star Light, Star Bright - will give people the opportunity to illuminate lights on the ground and recreate the dazzling patterns of the cosmos.

Launching on January 17, the enigmatic project was based around the concept of a 'shared city' and encourages people to come together to create famous constellations like Cassiopeia, Ursa Major and Orion.

Project creator Laura Kriefman, of Hellion Trace, explained how the night sky differs from city to city.

She said: "The stars in the night sky are so specific to each location. They are part of a city’s unique qualities that hide in plain sight, above our heads.

"Star Light, Star Bright draws attention to the connections between the streets of Oxford and the people of Oxford as individuals achieving something together, strangers meeting in the winter darkness to create light and connection.

“I designed Star Light, Star Bright to be democratic and citywide, demonstrating a shared city. City lighting masks the night sky, but we all seek those moments when we suddenly see the starlight, shining bright."

The project works using step-activated lights. Placed in clusters across seven locations in the city, the lights encourage players to come together to map constellations from the night sky above.

Shining brighter with each beacon activated, the final light activates the whole cluster with bright beams of light bathing those beneath in a constellation of stars.

The interactive installation, dreamt up by the award-winning Hellion Trace (formerly Guerilla Dance Project) was announced as the winner of the first ever Smart Oxford Playable City Commission last year.

This competition, run by arts funder Watershed and the Smart Oxford city promotion network, received 82 applications from artists, designers, architects, technologists and creative practitioners from 28 countries around the world who had proposed new and distinctive ideas to respond to the theme 'shared city'.

As winners of the award, Hellion Trace received £30,000 and guidance to help realise their ideas.

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price is just one of many excited to see the project come to finally come to fruition.

He said: “'Star Light, Star Bright' is a unique and very clever application of new digital technologies.

"It will be a real attraction for people of all ages and offer an educational experience to those of us with only a hazy knowledge of the star constellations that we can see in the night sky.

"Oxford's innovative creative technology community produced many good ideas for this competition but Star Light really captured the judging panel's imagination.”

For more information see StarLightStarBright.co.uk