Over its five-day run, LightFair registered more than 11,500 attendees from across the world for education, discovery and networking at its 2023 Trade Show and Conference, May 21-25, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
“Lightfair lit up New York City, with over 100 well-received Conference sessions, 30+ exhibit floor educational opportunities and 320+ Tradeshow exhibits,” says Dan Darby, show director. “LightFair continues to raise the bar for breadth and depth of education and exhibits, cementing its place in the lighting industry calendar as a must-attend event.”
In 2023, LightFair attendees hailed from across the nation and around the world, including representation from 70 countries and 49 states along with crossover attendance from the co-location with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and partnership with the city-wide design festival, NYCxDesign.
Trade Show
Eager attendees gathered as early as 8 a.m. on opening day of the Trade Show to take part in LightFair 2023. Quality connections were reported across the show floor by brands, specifiers, designers, and architects from the minute the trade show opened.
“We knew we had to launch Color-Stream, our new and innovative technology and product platform, at LightFair this year to create awareness, and we were pleasantly surprised with the quantity and quality of attendees,” says Vladimir Grigorik, president, CTO and chairman of GVA Lighting. “We work in a very niche segment of the architectural lighting industry and there is a limited number of lighting designers and architects that specialize in specifying products like ours, and we saw the right people here.”
George Moghaizel, CEO of Bold Lighting, adds: “We have seen mostly lighting designers, which is our audience so it is perfect for us. We had enough time to sit with every attendee, both returning and new, and explain our products. The pace at which people were coming in the booth allowed us to be able to accommodate everyone.”
Attendees took to social media to detail pleasant and productive visits to LightFair.
“Attending LightFair in New York is an amazing experience. The atmosphere is buzzing with excitement and innovation, and I am inspired by cutting-edge technologies,” said Brazilian attendee Javier Iglesias Borrell, CEO of Kumux Lighting Solutions, on LinkedIn. “I am grateful for the connections and knowledge I am gaining, and this experience will undoubtedly shape our future projects.”
Likewise, attendee Carlton E. Chew, IES Richmond VA Section president, took to LinkedIn and added, “The lighting community at LightFair is like no other. The education is unmatched, the show floor is expansive and energetic, the welcoming atmosphere is unrivaled, the off-site activities are outstanding and the memories are unforgettable.”
The expanded 2023 on-floor events and education at LightFair, which were developed by LightFair co-owners the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), drew attendees eager to learn and discover the latest design and outdoor trends and enjoy networking and tours.
“LightFair was a huge success and IALD is proud to play a vital part in such a needle-moving lighting Trade Show,” says Christopher Knowlton, IALD CEO. “The Immersive Lighting Installations and IALD Designery brought innovation, creativity and design excellence within the industry directly to attendees, and we are looking forward to bringing more design education and inspiration in 2025.”
Among 2023 highlights were the introduction of the first-ever Immersive Lighting Installations (ILIs), which encouraged attendees to consider new ways to utilize lighting for different projects and added a more design-focused element to the show floor.
For the inaugural ILIs, the seven participating designer/exhibitor teams were encouraged to build their installations around a “Circular Economy” theme. Traxon e:cue and design firm Tillotson Design Associates were selected as the winners who best represented the theme with their installation titled “Seeds of Light.”
Conference
The LightFair Conference offered over 100 sessions for the first time ever, with educational programming by the IES. The sessions, which ranged in length from 60 minutes to full-day, were well attended and received high acclaim for the breadth and depth of lighting topics and presenters.
“I have attended a number of sessions over three days, many on sustainability, reusing and recycling and end-of-life issues, which are critically important to the work I do. I am leaving with many new ideas and thoughts on how I can do things differently,” says Jean Bonander, government official and member of the California Street Lighting Association.
Conference presenter, Daniel Blitzer, principal of The Practical Lighting Workshop, adds:
“This year, we saw lighting and controls practitioners from many areas of the industry, both those with little experience and those with a great deal. Our workshop and presentation were developed specifically for Lightfair 2023, and I think the audience appreciated that the material was both fresh and relevant. Additionally, the questions and feedback received during the sessions were very valuable.”
The LightFair Conference, which was curated by the IES, provided five educational tracks – Art, Business, Process, Science and Technology. Many of the sessions focused heavily on lighting sustainability with reports of sessions being well received and attended.
IES CEO and Executive Director Colleen Harper adds: “The IES was blown away by the energy at LightFair. The new components that debuted this year, including the strong conference program that truly reflected IES educational priorities – the curation of which was led by IES Director of Education and Standards, Brienne Musselman – sets us up for an incredibly bright future. We are looking forward to 2025 already.”
Lightfair 2025
Beginning with LightFair’s 2023 edition, the Trade Show and Conference has transitioned to a new biennial cadence. Dates and location for the 2025 edition, as well as interim activities in between biennial markets, will be announced following a post-show survey of 2023 exhibitors and attendees.
“We listened to the industry to go biennial and it doesn’t stop there. We will listen to feedback from the surveys and create a plan for 2025 to best suit industry needs,” adds Darby.
