[d]arc Judges
The 2019 judging panel for the [d]arc awards consisted entirely of Women in Lighting ambassadors. They were responsible for shortlisting each project category. Annukka Larsen is specialised in urban lighting planning. She works as a Deputy Manager of WSP Finland’s Design Studio, where she leads a team of seven lighting designers. Before joining WSP, Larsen was an entrepreneur and co-ordinator for the City of Light Project in Jyväskylä for ten years. She has a special place in her heart for tackling light pollution but also for light festivals,
guerrilla lighting events and witty light art. “I’m proud that Finland was the first country in Europe to give women the right to vote in 1906. We are living in quite an equal society. It’s global news that our new Prime Minister is a 34-year-old female, mother of one child and comes from a family of same-sex parents. Things are changing, but we’re not quite there yet. Viva la WiL!”
Olga Tuzova is the Russian WiL ambassador who is currently living and working in Italy as a consulting lighting designer. She has qualifications in Interior Design from the Moscow Architectural Institute and a Master’s degree in lighting design and LED Technology from Politecnico di Milano. “Women in Lighting gave me a new focus in my life. I was born in the biggest country in
As a Co-Founder and Principal of the New York-based architectural lighting design practice, Sighte Studio, Francesca Bastianini is committed to a practice that folds education, research and community engagement into design. She has a Bachelors degree in Theatre and Psychology from Smith College in the United States and a Masters in Psychology from Lesley University in Boston. In 2010, Bastianini graduated from Parsons the New School
for Design with an MFA in Lighting Design. “The WiL project’s strength is in bringing all of these strong individuals into a growing global community, to serve as inspiration, representation, and advocates for others. That united force helps in the goals of having representation in conferences and judging panels, and helps to reflect the contribution of women that are already part of the industry.”
Dr Dalal AlSharhan is one of the pioneers in architectural lighting in the Middle East. She received her doctorate in 2017 from Arizona State University, which focused on Architectural Lighting Design. She works at the Kayan office as an Architectural Lighting Consultant, where she established the lighting design department. “Personally, being a judge at such a respectable event was always a goal for me. Nevertheless,
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the world, and I am proud of it. We have so many talented young women who want to achieve more. In my opinion, this project will open doors for new generations. It will allow us to meet other women all over the world, to find new friends, to knock down the walls in our minds, to find opportunities and follow a gorgeous way! Gorgeous way of light!”
before WiL, I thought it would take me so much longer to network and prove myself as a woman to be trusted as a judge on an awards panel. I think WiL made a great shortcut by creating this opportunity. In addition, being at [d]arc night, representing my country Kuwait, supported my ultimate aim to spread knowledge of lighting in an Arabic language, and being a judge reinforced the trust I need to gain from my audience.”
