Light­‐Spot at PQ 2015

During the Prague Quadrennial of 2015, a team of lighting designers initiated creation of a place for gathering of people interested in lighting design within the many possibilities that were offered all over the town. This was the solution of a foreseen issue that it would be otherwise hard to find people interested in these topics in such a large event. In a ship anchored at the Vltava riverbank, all  was arranged to accommodate meeting of friends and colleagues as well as to carry out scheduled activities as presentations and discussions. It was called Light – Spot and it was open from 19th to 23rd June of 2015.

Volunteers were welcome to join; to talk and listen; to drink and eat as well as helping out; to prepare food in a worldwide fusion of kitchen, or to participate on topics of interest in three program-slots per day, based around the daily topic. Those who discovered the upcoming event were encouraged to show interest in being a part of it in advance, in offering help even just for a part of a day, in sending proposals for presentations and topics to be discussed.

Light – Spot offered the opportunity for  finding new colleagues and friends from all over the world and for exchanging ideas. Light Spot could be the start of (guided) exploring the PQ; meeting old friends and making new, encountering between the experienced generation and the new kids on the block, opening the doors for possible finding of  an assistant or a master, applying for an internship or being asked to share knowledge. A place to discuss the issues of the lighting designer profession.

In the mornings, there was late brunch & coffee around selected topics. In the afternoon, a light lunch was shared  and informal meeting was taking place around a big table and informal and private as it gets.

Light Spot was operated by three partners in European Lighting School, an EU-funded project that had been developing in the previous two years between Institute of Lighting Design in Prague – Czech Republic, Antena from Slovak Republic and iLo in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Because of the nature of the organizers, we wanted to put an emphasis on the training and education of theatre lighting technicians and designers. In mid European practice, these professionals are many times united in the same person.

We were educating practitioners in those areas, usually working in independent theatres that are generally limited in funds and equipment. The participants were usually very creative in their quest for artistic lighting, demanding for more possibilities and very willing to exchange and to be inspired by their colleagues working in different places and environments. The workshops had resulted in a curriculum that was both inspiring as fruitful for the participants. Meeting new people, experiencing different approaches, new challenges that have been brought up, made up for new insights and fuel for new personal development.

In scheduled meetings we wanted to share our experiences and methods and compare them with practices of other organizations and institutions in the field. Between training on the fly and official diploma education, what is the difference in our approaches? What can we learn from each other? Is there a general approach, do practicing technicians/designers need more theoretical backing and is practice and theory at a school the same as one would find in the real world? And as a result of all of this, we also touched upon professional contemporary topics.