Showlight 2025: First Speakers Announced

	(l-r) Top Row: Anne Militello, Marco Miglioli, Mikki Kunttu. Bottom Row: Ezequiel Nobili, David Gray, Simon Corder

Showlight, to be held May 19 - 22 at Le Parc des Exposition et Congres de Dijon in Dijon, France, has announced its first speakers.

The selection draws from various lighting disciplines covering site-specific installations, mixed lighting challenges, product innovation, and circus spectaculars.

According to Showlight, the announced papers include:

The Magic of Cirque du Soleil
Mikki Kunttu will explain how he turns magic into reality as the lighting and set designer and programmer for 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 contro, using as an example his work at the Hedeland Arena in Denmark.

MAYRIT. Light and Vibration
Ezequiel Nobili, from the Spanish lighting association (AAI), will discuss 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 attendees on a journey through fictitious worlds where the original IP has no "electricity;" bring custom character fixtures created for The Smurfs, Kung Fu Panda, and Shrek; and finish with the construction challenges and recent control upgrade of the 1,000-exterior-strobe installation on the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

If you have an idea or a project to present, send an outline to: papers@showlight.org.

More speakers will be added to the website in the coming weeks and months: www.showlight.org/speakers.