SOLAR was a collaborative arts and technology project, commissioned for the CATALYST Festival of Creativity, that mapped the solar system from the city of Sheffield to the nearby Peak District through a series of specially commissioned artworks and a related walking app.

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Six members of Walking Arts Research Group at Sheffield Hallam University were commissioned to produce new artworks in response to the eight planets of our solar system each of which they assigned to a location at a distance from the centre of Sheffield representing the relative orbit of the planet measured at a scale where the average walking speed represents the speed of light.

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The public launch of the app took place on the 8th of March. The event involved projecting the artwork onto Sheffield Town Hall, before inviting members of the public to join the artists and app designers on a walk to the first four planets in the 'solar system'. As the locations were reached the artwork was 'unlocked' and, after viewing, the artists gave a short talk about the work. The event was covered by ITV's Calender News.

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The artists worked in collaboration with external organisations Opus Independents and Epiphany VR to create a free, interactive app that guides a walking trail beginning with the Sun in the Peace Gardens and ending with Neptune situated in Woodlands Valley close to Snake Pass and Ladybower Reservoir.

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The project is an extension of the research work of members of the Walking Arts Research Group at Sheffield Hallam University that provides a collaborative space for the investigation of cross practice creative production linked to a range of walking practices.

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SOLAR was a commission for the CATALYST Festival of Creativity, Sheffield supported by the Art and Design Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University.