VISITORS to the Australian Parliament House are in for a double whammy of enlightenment in coming weeks when Canberra artists insinuate themselves into the “Electric Canvas”.

That “canvas” sees the parliamentary triangle transformed by architectural projections that light up Parliament House, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Library of Australia, the Museum of Australian Democracy, the National Gallery of Australia and Questacon.

It’s all part of the sixth annual Enlighten Festival designed, as ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr says, to “excite, surprise and thrill visitors to the nation’s capital”.

Enlighten’s creative director Nicole Warren’s quirky program includes large, illuminated, inflatable white rabbits, 12 films on the theme of “chance”, travelling circuses, a disco in the darkness, an adults-only scientific exploration of whisky and a “Twilight Safari” at the zoo.

Warren already had grand plans, but when she put out a call for proposals around the theme of autumn, she got more than she bargained for in “Autumn Lantern”, devised by a team of local dancers, physical theatre experts and musicians. Illuminated dancers and musicians move, play and react like falling leaves and echo the sounds of autumn, they say.

Canberra dancer and choreographer Alison Plevey says she is excited to have persuaded Warren that our artists had a role to play in the bigger festival, usually populated with imports.

“I wanted to let them know that there are also performers in Canberra and what a good idea it would be to engage with the local arts community… Nicole was absolutely up for that,” Plevey says.

She and collaborator Tanya Voges, musicians Michael Liu and Tyson Jones, and former Cirque du Soleil member Susanna Defraia, dreamed up a light-related motif.

“Autumn Lantern” sees the artists roving in white garments with strip lighting inserted in the hoop skirts so they become human lanterns. Plevey believes they will get a reaction as the performers integrate with the audience, creating a kind of interactive sculpture.

“It’s a real bonus for us working with the ‘Electric Canvas’,” says Plevey.

“We weren’t quite sure how it would go, but it’s working out… the best performances are at 8.15pm and 9.15pm, when we light up like lanterns.”

“Autumn Lantern”, Australian Parliament House Forecourt, March 4 & 11 throughout the evening, free. Courtyard garden tour of Parliament House in autumn, 6pm & 6.30pm, March 4, 5, 11 & 12, bookings to ticketek.com.au

Enlighten 2016, March 4-12, information at enlightencanberra.com.au and bookings (for ticketed events only) to ticketek.com.au or 132849.