(Europe) – Conference moved online due to Covid-19 pandemic

The first ever digital IALD Enlighten Europe conference, held online on 18-19 November, welcomed more than 500 lighting professionals – including designers, architects, students, educators, manufacturers and suppliers – from around the world.

The event, originally scheduled to take place in Oslo, Norway, was moved online because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but representatives from the IALD are delighted with the resulting digital event.

“While we all wish we could be together in person, our online Enlighten conferences still give us the opportunity to gather together as a global community,” said IALD President Douglas Leonard. “This year’s Enlighten Europe showcased a strong line up of lighting luminaries from all over the world. The topics were engaging and forward-focused, reminding us that lighting design is an ever-evolving profession, and our passion for the study of light and its applications.”

IALD CEO Marsha Turner added: “2020 has been a year of many ‘firsts’ for the IALD. And bringing our Enlighten conferences online this year has been another first for us. In addition to the strong educational content, our Enlighten events are for connecting and reconnecting – to catch up with long-time friends, meet new colleagues, be inspired and have a bit of fun. As a result, we created interactive events that focused on connecting and networking virtually.”

The conference opened with a leading international panel on How Have You Adapted and Remained Inspired Throughout Your Career by this Ever-Changing Field of Lighting Design? In this session, Kaoru Mende, Claudia Paz and Kai Piippo shared stories from their lighting design careers, revealing the moments, people and principles that have inspired them throughout their careers.

The topic of lighting for darkness was a prevalent theme during the conference, as Helga Iselin Wåseth from the University of South Eastern Norway and Darío Nuñez of Verkis each held presentations on the mindful application of light, and not trying to eradicate darkness.

Elsewhere, Enlighten Europe offered more thought-provoking content on What Inspires You and How is it Different Now than When You First Started Lighting Design? Here, lighting designers Gustavo Avilés, Mônica Luz Lobo and Andreas Schulz shared their inner thoughts and wisdom about inspiration during the events closing session. From mindful observations and finding meaning from the things around us, to discovering the inspiration from people and the stories behind projects, and unleashing creativity through founding your own company, each designer shared their path to inspiration.

The IALD hope to resume physical conferences with IALD Enlighten Americas, scheduled to take place in Banff, Canada in October 2021.

www.iald.org