The biggest architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference in North America, LightFair, has announced today that it would switch to a biannual event calendar starting with the 2023 event, which will take place from May 21–25 in New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
The revised LightFair schedule will better suit the industry's product marketplace, manufacturing cycle, and general demands of lighting experts as the dominant player in this dynamic sector.
The exhibition director, Dan Darby, said, "The lighting industry has been changing, so we took the opportunity to reflect on what we offer and optimize our event in a way that better aligns with industry needs."
"We have observed and sensed how the business landscape is changing, and it is critical that we do likewise. Our thriving community of lighting experts is always put first, and we are enthusiastic about LightFair's promising future as a biennial event.
The timetable modification is a component of a broad strategic plan that the management committee of LightFair created in response to the evolving requirements of lighting manufacturing and specification.
With innovative new features in 2023, such as collaborations with NYCxDESIGN and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), immersive lighting installations, educational tours, audience expansion to include residential lighting professionals, and more, this plan keeps LightFair at the forefront of the sector.
With a new biannual Conference and Trade Show schedule that is in line with every other-year manufacturing cycles, participants of LightFair will be able to continue seeing the newest products in odd-numbered years. With this exciting change, LightFair welcomes a rise in participation from all industry segments and offers more business prospects for lighting designers, distributors, engineers, and architects to come together and celebrate lighting innovation on the biggest possible scale.
According to IALD CEO Christopher Knowlton, "As one of the owners of LightFair, we are excited to embrace this new biennial cadence that we know will best serve our community in the years to come."
According to Colleen Harper, executive director of the Illuminating Engineering Society, "The Illuminating Engineering Society remains committed to its mission to improve the lighted environment by bringing together those with lighting knowledge and by translating that knowledge into actions that benefit the public."
LightFair will remain a staple of the lighting industry as a result of this shift, enabling us to collaborate as a community to connect, engage, and inspire. Over 10,000 attendees from 63 countries attended LightFair 2022, an increase of 110% over the previous year, to find new goods, further their education, and network with other business experts.
Checkout the winners of the Lightfair innovation awards here!
This pattern is anticipated to continue in 2023, when the event will be dynamically expanded in the following ways:
With recently released immersive lighting works, LightFair will be an extraordinary sensory adventure. These interactive, colorful works will be made in accordance with the Circular Economy 2023 concept by four manufacturer teams in collaboration with a lighting design company based in New York.
The IALD Designery will be modeled after the well-known Design Pavilion. Insightful panel discussions, town hall-style member meetings, and student events will all take place here.
The best lighting design in the city will be highlighted through a collaboration with NYCxDESIGN, including interactive studio tours and a panel discussion at The Designery.
The LightFair LIVE stage will now be known as IES Live and include a wide range of fresh content. A Shark Tank-style sales competition, meetups with LightFair Conference speakers, 3D light fixture printing, and exclusive Q&A sessions are all on the schedule.
With a comprehensive program that emphasizes inclusion and recognizes the cross-disciplinary linkages between lighting and other fields, IES will also serve as conference chair for the LightFair 2023 Conference. Business, Process, Art, Science, and Technology are the five major conference themes that will be covered by conference speakers and topics. These five themes will also be explored in relation to one another, as well as any unusual concepts that go beyond them and broaden the scope of lighting education.
The 2023 LightFair Trade Show and Conference will take place at the Javits Center in New York City from Sunday, May 21, through Thursday, May 25, with a focus on innovations that will shape the future and an incredible attendee experience driven by new product discovery, networking, and on-floor education.
