Leading Italian
lighting manufacturer Claypaky is proud to have been the Headline Sponsor and
host of the Showlight 2017 conference, which closed on 23 May after three
extremely successful days in Florence, Italy. Over a three-year period, the Claypaky
team has worked closely with the Showlight committee to help produce this
extraordinary event.
Showlight combines
a unique mix of elements – a world-class conference, an exhibition of
manufacturers and service providers, and a rich and varied social and cultural
programme designed to maximize networking opportunities among delegates,
manufacturers, lighting designers and students. Attracting a broad range of the
world’s leading lighting designers and practitioners, Showlight happens just
once every four years, and has long been a favourite event on the professional
show lighting industry’s calendar.
Staged in
the beautiful Tuscan city of Florence, Showlight 2017 saw the highest
attendance in the event’s history. Around 450 delegates, including some of the
best-known figures from the world of show lighting, plus exhibitors and
sponsored students, spent three days together watching a total of 29
presentations in the stunning setting of the Palazzo dei Congressi, which
includes the grand 19th-century Villa Vittoria and a modern, 1000-capacity
conference theatre.
Speakers included
Al Gurdon, discussing the lighting of Grease Live! broadcast for the Fox
network; Jeff Ravitz on his 33 years of lighting Bruce Springsteen’s concerts;
Durham Marenghi, who gave a fascinating account of lighting the closing
ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics; Martin Kempton, who discussed his experience
of lighting for television sitcoms, and Mikki Kunttu, who delivered an
inspiring talk on his design for the Royal Danish Ballet’s 2015 production of Swan
Lake.
Some of
Italy’s finest lighting designers also participated in the programme, including
opera specialist Marco Filibeck, theatre set and lighting designer Vinicio Cheli
and Andrea Bocelli’s lighting designer, Aldo Visentin. Other papers covered an
eclectic range of lighting subjects, from puppet theatre to medieval buildings,
from film locations to zoos, and from candle light to virtual reality.
Aside from
the conference itself, highlights of Showlight 2017 included an afternoon of
cultural visits to places of interest including Florence’s historic Pergola Theatre,
the city’s new opera house and the Antinori family’s stunning winery facility,
nestled in the hills outside the city. On the Monday evening, delegates
gathered for the Showlight Gala Dinner, hosted by Claypaky in the beautiful
surroundings of the Torrigiani Gardens. Speaking at the Gala Dinner, Claypaky
CEO Pio Nahum thanked the Showlight committee for placing their trust in
Claypaky and allowing the event to be hosted in Italy.
In all, the
event was an extraordinary success. Attendees were unanimous in their praise of
the experience, the insights offered by the paper presentations, the quality of
the cultural visits and the uniquely relaxed and informal networking
environment that Showlight offers.
Pio Nahum
comments: “We have wanted to host Showlight in Italy for many years and we have
been delighted with the result. It is an honour to welcome so many lighting
designers to our country, to show them our famous hospitality and to spend so
much quality time with them. And I have been so impressed by the speakers – there
has been such diversity in the presentations. Of course, everyone here is a
lighting expert, but there are always new things you can learn from each other
at an event such as this! Showlight has been a wonderful opportunity for
Claypaky to strengthen our relationships with so many prominent people in the
world of lighting.”
