Tri-State residents have a front row seat when the International Landscape Lighting Institute illuminates New Harmony, Indiana, during its autumn intensive course.
The ILLI fall intensive course gathers 24 lighting experts from across the world to learn new techniques and test prototypes. The attendees are split into three groups that are matched with a lead mentor and two supportive mentors to help guide their education in landscape lighting.
Chris Mitchell, the design/sales manager of Owensboro, Kentucky-based Niteliters — which is celebrating 25 years in business — attended the course in 2010 and has served as a mentor six times.
“One of my attendees in my group had been doing architectural lighting in downtown Chicago for 30 years, so she was no newbie to lighting,” he says. “She just wanted to learn about landscape lighting because that’s what the course is mainly focused on.”
This is the first time the global course, which is held each spring and fall, will take place in the Midwest. Mitchell will serve as a mentor during this year’s course Nov. 3-8.
“It’s an education process for the attendees and frankly the mentors too, because it helps us understand what lighting can be and not to be afraid of that,” Mitchell says. “It’s made me a better lighting designer, which is better serving my community.”
Groups will be assigned a zone in New Harmony to creatively illuminate using hundreds of fixtures and prototypes supplied by lighting manufacturers.
The final night of the course will feature a public reveal of the lighting displays beginning about 30 minutes after dusk. Each group will speak about their design and what they learned. Mitchell says New Harmony restaurants and shops will be open to welcome ILLI guests, who are encouraged to peruse the lighting displays and seek their own inspiration.
“It gives our region the opportunity to see lighting with no budget,” he says.
It’s Lit
illieedu.org
