On 1 November 2019, the General Staff building of the State Hermitage was the setting for the formal opening of the international research and application conference “Lighting Design”, organized jointly by the State Hermitage, the ITMO University and the ARKHKLUB project.
The event provides an open discussion platform for people from the world of science, business, art and innovation technologies, bringing together leading experts from Russia and abroad in the field of lighting design, architecture, multimedia culture, light engineering, urban planning and IT.
“It may seem strange that we are speaking about light her, in a museum. But, after all, light is a very important part of a museum. Any artwork or element of décor requires the correct illumination. Museum lighting is a very complicated matter and many people do not even consider to what degree. For us it is very important and very pleasant that we are able to share our projects in this sphere with you and to discuss them,” Alexei Valentinovich Bogdanov, Deputy General Director of the State Hermitage, said at the opening ceremony.
“We began to study lighting design not so long ago. We very much hope that our conference will become the impulse for new discussions,” Vladimir Nikolayevich Vasilyev, Rector of the ITMO University, continued. “We also need to find a balance between the representation of the human being in the virtual and real worlds – and that is a problem that is already not simply cross-disciplinary, but interdisciplinary.”
Andrei Sergeyevich Bondarchuk, Chairman of Saint Petersburg’s Energy and Engineering Support Committee, added: “I would like to note that we are very lucky that the conference is taking place here in particular, in the Hermitage. The museum’s atmosphere engenders a special creative mood and so I am sure that we can expect a very interesting and fruitful dialogue.”
The first day of the conference took place on 1 November in the General Staff building. The discussions were devoted to the development of an intelligent light environment in cities, museums, galleries and other exhibition spaces. Among the main events of the day were panel discussions on “A comfortable light environment in the digital age”, “Smart solutions for residential districts” and “Preserving museums’ identity while transforming the displays in the digital age. Innovative methods vs tradition” with the participation of representative of government bodies, the academic and professional communities.
In their contributions, members of staff of the State Hermitage touched on questions of light in the museum and modern technologies. Yekaterina Balakhnina from the Chief Power Engineer’s Department spoke about display lighting and the working group on museum lighting that is part of the Scientific and Technical Board of the lighting technology industry branch; Dmitry Yesakov of the Computers Division on the development of VR/AR projects in the Hermitage.
The second day of the conference, 2 November, will be held in the ARKHKLUB cultural venue on the territory of Sevcable Port under the motto “Professional Transformation”.
