EVENT FOCUS
WOMEN IN LIGHTING; ENTERTAINMENT LIGHTING SESSIONS Ayrton hosts a whole day event at its Paris HQ with Women In Lighting, bringing together a range of distinguished speakers to discuss how lighting can be used as a narrative device.
Words: Stew Hume Photos: Ayrton
Akari-Lisa Ishii of I.C.O.N, Ayrton’s Linnea Ljungmark; Briony Berning from Ambersphere, Sharon Stammers of WIL, Cristina Martinez and Martin Lupton from WIL.
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In recent months, Ayrton has shown its commitment to pushing for greater diversity within the field of lighting by becoming an active supporter of Women In Lighting (WIL). As a demonstration of this commitment, the lighting manufacturer hosted the first WIL Entertainment Lighting Session at its Paris HQ in late October 2022. Although WIL has always been open to all women working in lighting, Founders Sharon Stammers and Martin Lupton expressed in the build up to the event that they had not
previously had the time to dedicate to those working in entertainment, instead focusing on women working in architectural lighting. But now thanks to the collaboration with Ayrton, the organisation is looking to work with more individuals working in entertainment lighting including stage, TV, concerts and events. “It’s been great for WIL to expand in this direction and to be able to include other women working in different sectors of lighting to those already part of the project,” stated Stammers. “It’s exciting to talk with women working in a field that we know very little about and to hear stories of their lives in light.” Discussing the latest collaboration was Ayrton’s Business Development Manager, Linnea Ljungmark. “In March 2020 when most of us were spending a lot of time at home, I spotted an invitation for the Women In Lighting Global Gathering and decided to sign up,” reflected Ljungmark. “It turned out to be a day full of interesting presentations and social roulettes where I met and networked with women from all over the world. I have been in the industry for most of my work life and even though I always had male supporters, I sometimes felt like an outsider. I met so many others like me, which was very inspiring and comforting, and I felt that I wanted to share this experience with others.” Due to her positive experience at the WIL Gathering, Ljungmark reached out to the project to see if they would be interested in expanding the project to include entertainment lighting. With WIL on board, plans were made to create an in-person event that would inspire the WIL community. The events saw talks from the likes of Yanina Kovalevska, Briony Berning, Akari-Lisa Ishii and Cristina Martinez. Each of the speakers gave attendees personal anecdotes of how they found themselves in their respective fields.