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By Sonja Walker January 31, 2025
Showlight Bursaries are now available for early career delegates! Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Diamond Sponsor, Ayrton, Showlight has a limited number of reduced priced conference places available to early career freelance professionals. To apply for these places please submit a resume/CV, portfolio or website, along with a maximum 200-word (1200 character) statement describing your career and interests, and why you would like to attend Showlight 2025 in Dijon this May. The deadline for applications is 15 March 2025. Showlight wants to encourage as many people as possible to be able to attend this unique conference and appreciates that, for those early in their freelance professional career, the cost of attending can be daunting. Showlight already has a well-established Student Sponsorship scheme in place for which applications are already open. The Emerging Professional Bursaries form a completely new initiative, made possible by Ayrton’s generous support, that complements this scheme, enabling an even greater range of delegates to participate and enjoy Showlight. “Ayrton is proud to support emerging professionals at Showlight,” says Ayrton CEO, Chris Ferrante. “Access to industry events is crucial for early-career freelancers, yet often financially challenging. By sponsoring these bursaries, we’re helping remove barriers, ensuring emerging talent can connect, learn, and contribute to the future of lighting design. Investing in the next generation benefits the entire industry, and we’re delighted to play a part in shaping its future.” Applications and 200-word statements can be submitted directly via the Showlight website here Showlight would like to acknowledge the amazing support it receives from all its sponsors, a list of whom can be found on the Showlight website ( www.showlight.org/our-sponsors ). Their generosity allows Showlight to maintain the standards education, entertainment and networking expected of this unique lighting quadrennial, and we look forward to delivering another sparkling event in May. More announcements will be made in the lead up to Showlight 2025. Join the Showlight Mailing List ( www.showlight.org ) to be amongst the first to know all the breaking news as it happens.
By Sonja Walker January 20, 2025
The countdown to Showlight 2025 is upon us and it’s time to announce the next round of speakers engaged to share their experiences over three glorious days in Dijon this May. With topics drawing from innovations in mixed and multimedia lighting, the illumination of spaces from the smallest venue to the wide open sky, and the subject of climate change and sustainability initiatives, here’s the next selection to tantalise and titivate your technical tastebuds! Lighting ‘Cine-Theatre’ Nick Schlieper , one of Australia’s most highly awarded designers, will examine the considerable challenges posed by lighting Cine-Theatre, a style of production which utilises live feed video combined with pre-recorded footage with which the performers constantly interact. The term was coined by a critic, writing about a ground-breaking production of The Picture Of Dorian Gray in Sydney, in 2020 and applied to subsequent productions of Jekyll and Hyde and Dracula . Small Venues, Gigantic Ideas Argentinian lighting designers, Sophya Acosta and Luciana Suppicich from Sophya Acosta Lighting Design Studio, specialise in creating unique magical moments within the spacial and technical constraints of small venues. Together they will disclose how these restrictions can inspire the most extraordinary and ingenious ideas. Embracing the Blue Hour – lighting design under an open sky Phil Supple has created outdoor lighting designs for large scale performances, artworks, public and private commissions for over 25 years. Celebrating the rewards of an outdoor lighting design practice, he will explore the delivery of landscape lighting and lighting artworks under transitional, dynamic, and sometimes unruly conditions in both urban and rural contexts. Not the End of the World Inspired by Hannah Ritchie’s book of the same name, Bryan Raven , erstwhile MD of White Light and champion of sustainability, takes a more positive and optimistic view of the battle against climate change and the wider sustainability topic with examples taken from his experiences with White Light and working with various organisations in the live events sector. The musical 40-45 brings 360 Degrees of Emotion With over 30 years of experience in creating immersive visual experiences, founder and creative director of Painting with Light, Luc Peumans , will use the new-style immersive musical experience of the musical, 40-45, to show how he blended emotional storytelling with high-tech motion technology, innovative lighting and multimedia design to maintaining the fluidity and intensity of the narrative. More speakers will be added to the website in the coming weeks and months – keep checking in here www.showlight.org/speakers to find out more, or better still, join the Showlight Mailing List ( www.showlight.org ) to be amongst the first to know!
By Sonja Walker December 16, 2024
Calling All Students! The Showlight Student Sponsorship deadline is near! Don’t delay! Get your application in today! Applications close on Friday 31 January 2025. Tutors – please make sure your students are aware of this fantastic opportunity! Showlight’s sponsorship scheme is open to students and recent graduates of lighting for the performing arts, events, broadcast, film and architecture. Successful applicants enjoy free-of-charge entry to Showlight 2025, with access to the full Programme of Papers, admission to the exhibition of major lighting equipment manufacturers, networking opportunities during the daily breaks and lunch, as well as a place at one of the Company Dinners on the Tuesday evening and the Conference Dinner on Wednesday evening. Around 30 places are available but spaces are filling up fast. Here’s what former Showlight student participant and presenter of Sweeney Todd – A Site Specific Experience , Amy Mae Smith, had to say about Showlight 2017: “Showlight is an inspiring few days where you can meet and learn from lighting designers, programmers and video designers that you would never normally be able to meet, from all over the world. People from Theatre, TV, live events and more. It is a great chance to meet a mix of people with different views, approaches and styles to design. A brilliant event with the right mix of talks, exhibitors and tours.” Amy Mae Smith You can see a snippet of her presentation here – just after Durham Marenghi’s paper about lighting the Olympics! Amy Mae Smith at Showlight 2017 Students - don’t miss your chance to be part of this unique lighting quadrennial networking event. Each successful applicant is sponsored by one of the Showlight exhibitors and will receive a £500.00 stipend to put towards their travel and accommodation. In return, each student will be expected to help their sponsor with the exhibition stand fit up on Monday 19 May and the de-rig on Thursday 22 May and will benefit from being part of the team during the exhibition opening times. Stands are small so this is an easy set up and a chance to build a relationship with your sponsor, get to know key people from their team and what it is to take part in a bespoke exhibition. Showlight is an invaluable environment for those just starting their careers in lighting to network with and learn from established professionals and potential future employees within the industry. It also enables you to make new friends from other educational establishments who will be going into the same industry as you. If you are attending – or have recently graduated from – a lighting course and want to be involved, submit your application via the link on the Showlight website at www.showlight.org/students no later than 31 January 2025 . Please answer all questions and provide a link to your portfolio and/or LinkedIN profile, or other professional social media site, as part of the selection process. Showlight only comes round every four years, so don’t delay in getting your application in today!
By Sonja Walker December 4, 2024
Showlight is extremely excited to announce the first of its speakers who will present Papers in May. The selection draws from a mixture of lighting disciplines covering site specific installations, mixed lighting challenges, product innovation and circus spectaculars with speakers, new and familiar, travelling to Dijon to be part of at this exceptional networking quadrennial. Here’s the first of what the Showlight 2025 line-up has to offer: The Magic of Cirque du Soleil Mikki Kunttu will explain how he turns magic into reality as the lighting & set designer and programmer for a number of spectacular Cirque du Soleil shows. The Power of Light – From Myth to Science to Control Anne Militello will examine how lighting techniques used today to stir emotional reactions, date back centuries to when man first incorporated light into ritual. From narratives based in mythology and science, these techniques were later adapted with technology to induce awe, ecstasy and fear as a more efficient way to exert power and control. Though Dusk into Darkness Simon Corder will present some musings on design practice, working with daylight becoming night, the natural marriage of set and lighting design, long-throw follow spots, and not being fully in control…using his work at the Hedeland Arena in Denmark as an example. MAYRIT. Light and Vibration Ezequiel Nobili , from the Spanish lighting association (AAI) will engage us with a site-specific work for the LuzMadrid 2023 Festival which used olfactory, tactile, visual and auditory devices to create a multisensory experience to leave a lasting mark in the memory of the audience. The Role of Dynamic Lighting in Two Iconic Milanese Sites: The Cathedral and the Shoah Memorial. Marco Miglioli examines how lighting in architecture transcends the mere function of illuminating spaces, changing and guiding visitors through their journey. Much like in theatre, it creates different scenes evoking emotions and memory. Creating Light Without Electricity…and an 828m facelift David Gray will take us on a journey through fictitious worlds where the original IP has no ‘electricity’, bring us custom character fixtures created for the Smurfs, Kung Fu Panda and Shrek, and finish with the construction challenges and recent control upgrade of the 1000 exterior strobe installation on the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. The Showlight Papers Committee continues to work its way through an entertaining swathe of submissions but is always looking for more! If you have an idea or a project to present, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a brief outline here: papers@showlight.org More speakers will be added to the website in the coming weeks and months – keep checking in here www.showlight.org/speakers to find out more, or better still, join the Showlight Mailing List ( www.showlight.org ) to be amongst the first to know!
By Sonja Walker November 11, 2024
Exciting News! Showlight Delegate Tickets are on sale now! Don’t miss your chance to be at the first in-person Showlight since 2017. The much-anticipated quadrennial networking event for lighting practitioners takes place at Le Parc des Expositions et Congrès de Dijon in France from 19-22 May 2025 with Robert Juliat as its headline sponsor. Tickets for this unique networking event are now on sale and can be booked direct from the website at www.showlight.org/tickets Register for Showlight 2025 here: www.showlight.org/tickets Delegates have a choice of three ticket options: Full Delegate, Day Delegate (Papers Only) or Student . Full Delegate ticket holders enjoy the whole event which, in addition to the Papers Sessions on all days, includes daily lunch and coffee/tea breaks, Monday evening’s Welcome Reception, Tuesday evening’s Company-Sponsored Dinners, the new Wednesday afternoon Workshops and the grand Showlight Conference Dinner. Day Delegate (Papers Only) tickets give delegates access for one day to attend the Papers Sessions on either Tuesday, Wednesday (including workshops) or Thursday - with, of course, lunch, tea and coffee breaks included. Student ticket holders, like Full Delegates, will have access on all days to the Papers Presentations, Workshops, Welcome Reception, Company Dinners, Conference Dinner and daily tea & coffee breaks and lunch. All ticket holders will have full admission to the Exhibition of major lighting equipment manufacturers and service providers which is open between Papers Sessions. Tickets will sell out fast, so secure your place now by visiting the Showlight website at www.showlight.org to purchase yours. Sponsored Student Scheme Showlight offers the opportunity for a number of students and recent graduates of lighting courses to attend Showlight 2025 free of charge, with places sponsored by the exhibitors. In return for sponsored attendance, each student is required to make themselves available to help their exhibitor with their stand fit-up on Monday 19 May and the de-rig on Thursday 22 May. For more information and to submit your application for one of these free tickets, fill in the selection form on the Showlight website at www.showlight.org/students. Book your hotel here: www.showlight.org/hotels-travel Dijon is a busy destination (especially with Showlight descending on it!) so book your accommodation as soon as possible to ensure you have the room you want. Headline sponsor Robert Juliat has worked hard with Showlight to secure a number of preferential rates with hotels in the Accor group, a list of which can be found on the Showlight website at www.showlight.org/hotels-travel . Be sure to tick the ‘Special Rates/Tarifs Spéciaux’ box showing SHOWLIGHT 2025 to secure this rate. Rooms are on a first come, first served basis after which the prices will revert to the standard rate. More information on all aspects of Showlight 2025 will be released over the coming months. Look out for news on speakers and their papers topics, and the new programme of workshops. Details of new exhibitors and sponsors are continually being updated on the Showlight website and social media sites. There are lots of ways to keep in touch: sign up to the Mailing List, follow us on all the usual social media sites and check out the Showlight website www.showlight.org . We look forward to seeing you all in Dijon next May! Register for Showlight 2025 here: www.showlight.org/tickets Book your Dijon hotel here: www.showlight.org/hotels-travel
By Sonja Walker October 21, 2024
Showlight is proud to offer a sponsorship scheme for a number of students and recent graduates of university, college or school courses related to lighting for the performing arts, events, broadcast, film and architecture. We are now inviting international students to apply for placements which allow free of charge entry to Showlight 2025 in Dijon, France from 19-22 May 2025. At least 30 places are up for grabs, and you’ll need to be available for the entire four days as they will be packed with special events you won’t want to miss! All students get to enjoy the full Programme of Papers, admission to the accompanying exhibition of major lighting equipment manufacturers between Papers Sessions, the networking opportunities of the daily morning and afternoon tea breaks and lunch, as well as a place at one of the Company Dinners on the Tuesday evening and the Conference Dinner on Wednesday evening. Also included is participation in the new Showlight workshops on the Wednesday afternoon, and inclusion in a series of creative tasks Showlight has planned for students to design, build and pitch to the rest of the conference. Student coordinator, James Simpson, will also be running some introductory workshops for students to get to know each other and to help them get the most out of the conference, including networking both online and offline. Each successful applicant is sponsored by one of the Showlight exhibitors and will receive a £500.00 stipend to put towards their travel and accommodation. In return, each student is requested to make themselves available to their sponsor to help with their stand fit up on Monday 19 May and the de-rig on Thursday 22 May and will benefit from being part of the team during the exhibition opening times. Stands are small so this is an easy set up and a chance to build a relationship with your sponsor, get to know key people from their team and what it is to take part in a bespoke exhibition. Showlight is an invaluable environment for those just starting their careers in lighting to network with and learn from established professionals and potential future employees within the industry. It also enables you to make new friends from other educational establishments who will be going into the same industry as you. If you are attending – or have recently graduated from - one of these courses and want to be involved, submit your application via the Showlight website at www.showlight.org/students . Please answer all questions and provide a link to your portfolio and/or LinkedIN profile, or other professional social media site, as part of the selection process. Tutors! If you are a tutor running one of these courses, please be sure to make your students aware of this fantastic opportunity! Showlight only comes round every four years, so don’t delay in getting your application in!
By Julie Harper September 30, 2024
Showlight 2025 has sparked huge excitement from the get go. The Papers Committee are meeting to discuss the first raft of Papers submissions for the central programme, the first Sponsors are already signed up and visible on the Showlight website (https://www.showlight.org/our-sponsors), and 60% of the exhibition spaces have already been sold. If you want to become part of Showlight 2025 as an Exhibitor, don’t delay in contacting us to secure your space. Remember, the exhibition area is the place to meet lighting designers, directors and delegates across all disciplines, in a relaxed and informal atmosphere, at morning, afternoon and lunchtime breaks. These breaks are a key part of Showlight’s unique networking opportunities and allow much closer contact with entertainment lighting users and specifiers than any of the large-scale trade shows. The exhibition area is also our break and dining area, so you can expect speakers and delegates to spend time on your stand or table – and with an anticipated attendance of 350-400, that gives everyone three days of quality time for great conversations and discussions. In 2025, as part of the new look Showlight, exhibitors are offered a choice of two exhibitor options: the traditional 3m x 3m shell scheme complete with table and 6 chairs on which to welcome delegates, or a trestle table and six chairs located in the centre of the exhibition space where delegates can sit with you and chat during the breaks. The latter has been introduced as an economic way for smaller exhibitors to have a presence at the conference. Either option is manned by two nominated members of your staff and exhibitors will also be allocated a lighting student or young professional – who will have expressed an interest in your company - to help with the fit up and break down and throughout the event. And don’t forget, during the Papers Sessions all exhibitors can enjoy the presentations too, providing more thought-provoking fuel to those valuable break time discussions. Exhibitors also have the option to host a table at a pre-selected restaurant for the traditional Company Dinners on the Tuesday evening. For more information and to book your space, contact Matt Hallard on exhibit@showlight.org Not up for exhibiting? You can still be come a Showlight sponsor. We rely upon our sponsors to make Showlight happen. Plenty of opportunities exist to become a Showlight 2025 sponsor, including sponsoring a student or a speaker. Contact Matt Hallard on sponsorship@showlight.org for more details.
By Julie Harper August 20, 2024
If you want to know more about Showlight, what it is and how to attend, members of the Showlight Committee will be waiting to meet you on Stand A34 to answer all your questions! Whether you want information on becoming a Showlight Exhibitor, Sponsor, Speaker or Student, or what to expect when attending as a Delegate, here’s your chance to find out more. Organised once every four years, Showlight is a unique event with a rich history, and a wanderlust that takes it to a different location every time. Aimed at anyone involved in the many disciplines of lighting design, each Showlight is organised entirely by volunteers, literally from the ground up – a new country, a new venue, every time. Showlight 2025 will be heading to Dijon in France where lighting practitioners from across the world will gather to hear a wide variety of exciting talks and exchange ideas in four days of unrivalled networking. This will be the first face-to-face Showlight since 2017 and will be held from 19 – 22 May 2025 at Le Parc des Expositions et Congrès de Dijon. With the Papers Committee in the process of selecting topics for the eclectic Papers Programme and exhibitors already signing up, keep your eyes open for news of Delegate Registration which will open later this year, or join the Mailing List to be the first to hear when you can secure your place. In the meantime, visit us at PLASA Show London (Stand A34) to discover how to become involved. Register here for a free PLASA visitor pass before 30 August 2024 (NB Price increases to £15.00 on 30 August 2024) We look forward to seeing you there.
By Julie Harper July 22, 2024
Showlight 2025 has sparked huge excitement from the get go. The Papers Committee are meeting to discuss the first raft of Papers submissions for the central programme, the first Sponsors are already signed up and visible on the Showlight website (https://www.showlight.org/our-sponsors), and 60% of the exhibition spaces have already been sold. If you want to become part of Showlight 2025 as an Exhibitor, don’t delay in contacting us to secure your space. Remember, the exhibition area is the place to meet lighting designers, directors and delegates across all disciplines, in a relaxed and informal atmosphere, at morning, afternoon and lunchtime breaks. These breaks are a key part of Showlight’s unique networking opportunities and allow much closer contact with entertainment lighting users and specifiers than any of the large-scale trade shows. The exhibition area is also our break and dining area, so you can expect speakers and delegates to spend time on your stand or table – and with an anticipated attendance of 350-400, that gives everyone three days of quality time for great conversations and discussions. In 2025, as part of the new look Showlight, exhibitors are offered a choice of two exhibitor options: the traditional 3m x 3m shell scheme complete with table and 6 chairs on which to welcome delegates, or a trestle table and six chairs located in the centre of the exhibition space where delegates can sit with you and chat during the breaks. The latter has been introduced as an economic way for smaller exhibitors to have a presence at the conference. Either option is manned by two nominated members of your staff and exhibitors will also be allocated a lighting student or young professional – who will have expressed an interest in your company - to help with the fit up and break down and throughout the event. And don’t forget, during the Papers Sessions all exhibitors can enjoy the presentations too, providing more thought-provoking fuel to those valuable break time discussions. Exhibitors also have the option to host a table at a pre-selected restaurant for the traditional Company Dinners on the Tuesday evening. For more information and to book your space, contact Matt Hallard on exhibit@showlight.org Not up for exhibiting? You can still be come a Showlight sponsor. We rely upon our sponsors to make Showlight happen. Plenty of opportunities exist to become a Showlight 2025 sponsor, including sponsoring a student or a speaker. Contact Matt Hallard on sponsorship@showlight.org for more details.
By Julie Harper June 17, 2024
Showlight 2025 is Calling for Speakers to present Papers at the next Showlight, slated for 19-22 May 2025 at Le Parc des Expositions et Congrès de Dijon, France. The Papers Programme is the heart and soul of Showlight and we want to present our delegates with a wide variety of interesting subjects to educate and entertain. This will be the first in-person Showlight since 2017 and we are looking for exciting new projects from all disciplines of lighting and lighting to include in the 2025 Papers Programme. Have you worked on a fabulous new project recently? Have you tried out some new technology and got something to share? Does your design really cut the mustard? We want to hear from you in Dijon! The Papers Committee has already begun the process of selecting Papers for the programme. If you have an idea, a story or an experience you’re burning to share, tell us about it! Contact the Papers Committee on papers@showlight.org All we need now is an outline. You can fill us in on the tasty details later! Spread the word! We want you! Become a Showlight Sponsor or Exhibitor Showlight could not take place without its generous sponsors and we thank Robert Juliat for remaining as our Headline Sponsor for 2025. We also want to extend our thanks to our new sponsors: Diamond Sponsor Ayrton; Platinum Sponsors Robe, MA Lighting, ETC, Chauvet, Starway, Elation and Claypaky, Palladium Sponsor FACE, Gold Sponsors Avolites and PRG, Silver Sponsors Martin Pro and Ambersphere Solutions, and Bronze Sponsors AC ET and LSC. Plenty more opportunities exist to become a Showlight 2025 sponsor, including sponsoring a student or a speaker. Contact Matt Hallard on sponsorship@showlight.org for more details. We are also inviting Exhibitors to participate. If you’d like to support Showlight 2025 by taking a space, contact us on exhibit@showlight.org
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