AN art installation was lit up over the weekend to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Crowds were drawn to the Apollo Pavilion, in Peterlee, on Friday and Saturday as Berlin-based collective of artists and architects Mader Wiermann lit up the structure with an installation reflecting its Brutalist architecture.

Commissioned by Durham County Council, in partnership with Artichoke, the company behind Durham’s Lumiere Festival, the installation launched a year-long programme of community activity and engagement celebrating the anniversary of the Apollo Pavilion.

The structure, on the town’s Sunny Blunts estate, was the brainchild of the Peterlee Development Corporation and designed by the artist Victor Pasmore. It is often referred to as Pasmore's Pavilion.

An example of 1960s public art, the Pavilion, which spans a small man-made lake, is constructed of concrete, with its only decoration being two painted murals.

An education and training programme for local 16 to 19 year olds, encouraging them to develop career skills in digital and video art and production, has also been launched.

A 50th birthday party will also be held in July as well as an unveiling of an art installation in September and a landscape art project for secondary and higher education students.