Tom HallAccess can exclusively reveal the dates of the next Lumiere event, as its organiser Artichoke partners with the Gatsby Foundation’s ‘Technicians Make it Happen’ which supports and trains young people in the technical event sector.
Lumiere will take place 14-17 November 2019.
The UK’s ageing workforce means 50,000 technicians are retiring each year, with the Gatsby Foundation estimating that over 70,000 technicians will be needed in the UK in the next decade to meet the future demand from employers.
The significant and increasing demand for skilled technicians means that events or festivals like Lumiere would not be possible without the support of initiatives like Technicians Make it Happen.
Harry Ricardo, senior audio visual technician at QED Productions worked on a number of installations at Lumiere 2017: “I spent three years studying at Portsmouth University after school which gave me a good foundation for the way I work now at QED. Team work is a big part of what we do and university helped me to understand how to work with others, both industry professionals, clients, and the public. That being said, there are plenty of people in the industry who didn’t study at university but have learnt their trade from going straight out and getting their hands dirty… we still all work pretty well as part of a team.”
Amelia Kosminsky, who is starting out on her career, worked as a production assistant for QED Productions on Lumiere helping to set up the 7 video installations in the festival. “I’ve always had an interest in light and nature, from watching raindrops run along car windows and refracting, through to light rays in a forest. In my early twenties, I began working as a photographer and looking at the use of light, both man made and natural and how we react to it,” she told Access.