Silhouette Awards The winners of the second annual Silhouette Awards, created by Archifos and Parrot PR & Marketing, were announced in an online ceremony on 1 March.
Returning for its sophomore edition, the international Silhouette Awards announced the winners of its 2023 programme in a virtual celebration at the beginning of March. Designed to reward emerging talent within the lighting industry through recognition and mentorship, the Silhouette Awards pairs junior designers with senior lighting professionals for a six-month mentorship opportunity. Established in 2021 by Archifos and Parrot PR & Marketing, the mentorship programme will give those recognised the chance to enhance their skillset, progress their career ambitions and add value to the creativity of the industry, raising the bar for talent to steer and lead the industry in years to come; all while learning from an established figure within the industry. After an entry process that saw submissions from candidates spanning 26 countries around the world, 20 winners were selected by the judging panel and paired with their supporting mentors. After the announcement of the 2023 winners, Eve Gaut, Silhouette Awards Co-Founder, said: “We are thrilled that, following the overwhelming success of the awards launch, we are returning for a second year of nurturing young talent. A huge congratulations to the winners on this much-deserved achievement. We are immensely grateful for the supporters, sponsors and mentors who have supported the awards. We also want to say a huge thank you to the international lighting community for coming together to celebrate the winners with us at the virtual event. The winning mentees will receive much-deserved recognition and publicity for their achievements, and we are honoured to have created this ongoing supportive platform.” Katia Kolovea, Silhouette Awards Co-Founder, Archifos, added: “We are so excited to see what’s in store for our mentees during this second year of the awards programme. Reflecting on the great success of the partnerships between our mentors and mentees from last year, the expectations are high. Congratulations to our 2023 winners, this is an incredibly exciting day. “The Silhouette Awards are much more than an award, and we are proud to have created a programme that allows mentors to nurture young talents, sponsors to connect and support further those individuals, and for everyone involved to 030 / 031
build deep and long-term business relationships and friendships. This is just the beginning.” Indonesian designer Dane Amilawangi, who was paired with Arup’s Florence Lam, said: “I am truly grateful to be one of the winning mentees. I feel very excited to start my mentoring journey with Florence and have discussions about our passion and ideas in lighting. From this mentorship, I am hoping to get a few steps closer to what I want to do in the long run in the lighting design field.” Lam added: “Dane’s professional outlook towards lighting design is purposeful and mature. It took me 20 years to figure out and she got it in five. I am excited to take this mentoring journey together with Dane.” Jessica Keates, who has just joined the lighting industry after working as an Electrical Engineer with Hoare Lea, was partnered with Arianna Ghezzi, Associate at Lighting Design International. She said: “I am very excited to have been selected as a mentee. I am so grateful to have been chosen by Arianna and I am looking forward to learning from her experiences over the next six months and being exposed to a different insight in the lighting industry as I develop my career in lighting.” Ghezzi said: “Being a mentor means a collaboration where hopefully I can inspire and guide Jessica, but at the same time also grow myself. Championing and helping Jessica, assisting with her career and development is such a big responsibility but at the same time a unique experience that I intend to treasure. My goal is to be there for her, and being someone she can ask questions to without feeling any pressure, so that we can achieve a mutual development at the end of our journey together.” The next edition of the Silhouette Awards will open for entries in September 2023. www.silhouetteawards.com