As with so much else in our lives, COVID-19 has impacted the DLFNY, especially in terms of how we hold events. All of our highly anticipated programs could no longer take place in person. Though we miss many of the benefits to in-person gatherings including making authentic connections, trading industry knowledge, catching up with old friends and making new ones, there’s been a silver lining, too. 

Like many organizations, we adapted quickly to the increasingly virtual way of life. Our biggest event of the year, LEDucation, after being postponed from March, took place August 18-19, 2020, and for the first time was completely virtual. Organizations were able to set up virtual booths, showcasing the year’s newest and most exciting products. Participants were able to browse the show’s virtual booths and attend webinars. And the silver lining was that it was also the first year when attendees were not restricted by travel conflicts. Compared to LEDucation 2019, last year’s event realized increased attendees by 1,400. Interestingly, over 2,000 attendees registered for the event after the virtual announcement was released, and we were happy to have attendees from further afield than would have been the case for an in-person event.

“In this changing climate, we are delighted to have been able to provide educational opportunities and an alternative option to keep the lighting community moving forward. We want to extend our thanks to all involved—exhibitors, speakers, and sponsors, and to all others who managed to make this happen. We were pleased to see so much participation and received pleasant feedback from attendees, speakers and exhibitors.”

LEDucation co-chairs and DLFNY board members, Burt Grant and Caroline Rinker

An additional and seemingly hidden bright side for these virtual events was in the simple convenience that we were no longer bound to New York City. Offering our members tours of projects in Asia and Africa was an unexpected, yet completely gratifying, benefit. These tours would not have happened before the shift to virtual occurred. 

Dancing White Lights: A Stroll Down the History Shanghai Bund took place on September 23, 2020. As our first international tour, this event was a virtual presentation of this award winning project by Fisher Marantz Stone and Unolai Lighting Design & Associates. Our members were offered behind the scene information on the reimagined lighting for 27 landmark buildings on the Shanghai waterfront. 

On October 21st, we presented Sustainable by Necessity: Daylighting a Remote School in Zambia. Jenny Stafford, Associate and Project Manager, Renfro Design Group & Paola Bernal, Lighting Designer, Renfro Design Group guided this tour showcasing the project’s innovative and award-winning daylighting techniques. 

Discovering lighting techniques being used around the world is an invaluable take away that we hope our members enjoy through these extremely trying times. Going forward, we’ve found a new and ongoing ability to bring lighting projects and conversations from anywhere in the world to our members. As eager as we all are to get back to in-person events, we look forward to “spreading our wings” further and adding projects from anywhere to our monthly calendar. We hope to see you virtually for now and in person soon.