Animated videos, crafted by students from Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), were projected onto the church as part of a creative venture.
This project, led by Light Art Creatives of Poole, is linked to a National Lottery bid to have the final work displayed in Bournemouth town centre.
Julian Dorrell, director at Light Art Creatives, said: “On a recent visit to Montréal, I was captivated by how they’d brought the city’s history to life with some incredibly impressive projection mapping.
Inspired by Montréal’s ‘Cité Mémoire’, one of the largest outdoor video-projection installations globally, the initiative seeks to tell Bournemouth’s history and culture through animation, theatre and film projected onto the church.
St Peter’s, known for being the final resting place of ‘Frankenstein’ author Mary Shelley, was interested in the project from the outset.
Mr Dorrell said: “It’s really encouraging to see a historical and significant institution being so forward-thinking and proactively embracing the idea of using technology.”
The initiative is at its ‘proof of concept’ stage and is seeking funding and sponsorship.
Second-year BA Animation Production student, Bryony Smith, designed animations for the proof of concept.
She crafted an animated portrait of Mary Shelley, drawing inspiration from etchings of ‘Frankenstein’ and Shelley’s handwriting.
Ms Smith said: “It’s so unusual to see your animation anywhere other than your own screen, so seeing it not only out in the world but placed onto a historical building was really wonderful.”
Mr Dorrell said: “This is the second year we have worked with the AUB animation department and the quality of the student’s work has continued to be of a professional and commercial standard.
“We are looking forward to making this collaboration more formal and expanding upon the departments that we work with.”
St Peter’s parish warden, Jane MacDonald, said: “We are delighted to be able to showcase these incredibly talented artists in this magical way.”