This year the Association of Lighting Authors has travelled to Florence to participate in Showlight 2017, an event that brings together, every four years, professionals from all over the world related to lighting.
Showlight is organized around several sessions of twenty-minute papers, grouped in series of two or three.
An eclectic selection of speakers present their views on a variety of topics, inviting us to reflect on the many challenges, restrictions and surprises that professionals in the many disciplines encompassed within the concept of lighting are currently facing, both creatively and logistically.
The organizing committee selects the different papers by assessing their interest, originality and relevance in the current scene, and seeking to include the widest possible variety of scenarios and technologies. From candles to laser. From a tiny puppet theatre to the opening stadium of the Rio Olympics. From the confined space of an English canteen to the wide meadows of Holland. From live music to cinema and from theatre to television, among others.
Showlight focuses its attention on the artistic and creative aspect of lighting design, and although unlike other similar fairs, its contents are not aimed at the exhibition and display of lighting-related products, it also offers a small-scale exhibition of the latest technologies from different manufacturers.
The main objective of Showlight is to provide a meeting place for professionals in the industry and to encourage the creation of a global network of contacts including designers, manufacturers, technicians, educators, students and others involved in the medium. To this end, the activity plan combines the aforementioned lectures with sessions that invite socializing and interaction, such as lunches sponsored by the manufacturers, group excursions, and a gala dinner, in which diners change tables with each new dish.
Being the first presence of our association in the history of this event, the organization received us with great cordiality and gave us an exquisite treatment and put at our disposal a small space next to the stands of the ALD (Association of Lighting Designers) and the STLD (Society of Television, Lighting and Design), of the United Kingdom. There we had the opportunity to make ourselves known, get in touch with other colleagues and collect testimonials kindly addressed to our partners, from various participants, such as Jeff Ravitz, Ken Billington, or John Allen himself, Director of the Event, among others.
Our presence at this prestigious event has allowed us to share the principles and values of our association as well as the activities we carry out with a large group of international professionals.
In this sense, our “Encounters of Light” were received with particular interest and were especially praised among the participants.
In summary, the balance of our first visit to Showlight has been very positive. Our presence at this prestigious event, impeccably organized, has given us the opportunity to make contact with a very wide selection of professionals in our sector, to get to know their activities in a more specific way, as well as to present our association and its activities in an incomparable world showcase, in an extraordinarily cordial atmosphere.
The Lighting Designers’ Association travelled to Florence to take part in Showlight 2017, an event in which professionals involved in lighting come together every four years.
Showlight is held around a series of 20 minute-long talks, where each session includes two or three talks.
An eclectic selection of speakers share their personal views on various topics reflecting on the multiple challenges, goals, restrictions and surprises, all professionals connected to the concept of lighting are facing nowadays, from both a creative and logistic point of view.
Talks are selected beforehand by the organizing commitee for their interest, their originality and their relevance to the current scene, pursuing to cover as wide a range of scenarios and technologies as possible. From laser to candles. Fom a tiny puppet theatre to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Rio. From a confined space in an English canteen to the wide open fields of the Netherlands. From live music to cinema and from theatre to television, among others.
Showlight focuses on the artistic and creative aspects of lighting design, and although, unlike other similar events, its contents are not strictly aimed at or intended for the exhibition and display of lighting – related products, there is also a small scale presentation of state-of-the-art products by different brands.
The main goal of Spotlight is to provide a meeting point for all professionals connected to the lighting sector and to encourage the creation of a world net of contacts which includes designers, makers, technicians, teachers, students and other people involved in this media. To do so, the schedule of activities combines the above mentioned talks with sessions dedicated to socialize and interact with other colleagues, such as meals sponsored by brands, group trips and a gala dinner, where guests move seats each time a new dish is served.
As first time participants in this event, our association was greeted with great warmth and was treated exquisitely. We were offered a space close to the ALD (Association of Lighting Designers) and the STLD (Society of Television, Lighting and Design), from the UK. We had the chance to introduce ourselves, to get to meet colleagues from around the world and to gather a series of testimonies kindly addressed to our members from other participants, such as Jeff Ravitz, Ken Billington and John Allen, Spotlight Director, among others.
Our presence in this prestigious event gave us the chance to share our principles, our values and the activities carried out by our association with a wide range of professionals from all over the world.
In this sense, our “Encounters with the Light” programme was received with special interest and praised by many participants.
In brief, our first visit to Showlight was extremely positive. Our presence in this prestigious event which was impeccably organized, gave us the chance to get in touch with a wide range of professionals from our sector, to acquire a deeper knowledge of their activities, and to present our association and our activities in an incomparable world showcase, within an extraordinarily cordial atmosphere.
