Italy was the venue for Showlight 2017 and the Green Hippo team was in Florence in force, enabling it to benefit from the quadrennial event’s smart mix of exhibition space and time, as well as a packed programme of presentations aimed at lighting professionals.
Showlight takes place every four years, each time moving to a different location, and 2017 saw Italy host its first show. Known for taking the typical trade show format and turning it on its head, the Florence Showlight followed suit. Time spent exhibiting deliberately takes a back seat and attendees prioritise attending ‘papers’, which are a series of bitesize presentations. Well-known industry figures present the papers, of which around 30 were given, with the first session starting as early as 8:30am.
Many of the papers delivered case studies taken from specific events, such as Kullervo in Sweden. Other lectures showcased emerging technology or looked at the history of the industry. Key to the success of the papers is the 20-minute length of the sessions – this ‘tasting menu’ of subjects, enables attendees to digest large amounts of headline information over a short period of time – and, if you like what you hear, simply further research the subject, after the show in your own time.
When not attending papers, the Green Hippo team exhibited its latest Hippotizer V4 software, the ‘lighting tool box for 2D and 3D’. Visitors included lighting designers, many of whom – as is the way with the best shows – joined the Green Hippo team for dinner, and possibly a glass of red wine, to continue discussions into the late hours.