This is a studio live stream of the closing session of the “Enlighten Asia 2021 in Japan,” which was held online for two days. Under the theme “Hello Asia,” we connected 11 cities in Asia live for an online discussion, presenting in relay format the current situation of each Asian city, the hardships of local lighting designers, as well as ways to connect people and lighting under current circumstances.

After greetings from Mr. Kaoru Mende, lighting designer and Director of Japan International Association of Lighting Designers,  Mr. David Bird and Mr. Jackson Stigwood from Melbourne, Australia appeared and talked about the impact of lockdown in their city during the Covid-19 pandemic and the importance of lighting events such as “White Night Melbourne” to restart the city from the aftermath.

Next, Singapore’s Ms. Yah Li Toh, Hong Kong’s Mr. Christopher Mok, Taipei’s Mr. Uno Lai and Ms. Sabrina Peng, Beijing’s Mr. Xin Zhang, and Seoul’s Ms. Mee Jeong reported each of their local situations. From Singapore, a domestic urban environment was introduced, from a cyclist’s eye-view, as a cityscape to enjoy viewing while cycling or jogging.

From Hong Kong, daily life in today’s Hong Kong and its changes were presented through a video showing the presenters walking around various lighting designs.

From Taipei, a presentation of several projects newly achieved during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as projects to show gratitude for the supply of vaccines was made, which reminded us of the power of lighting design.

From Beijing, various methods to illuminate traditional sceneries and commercial areas were brought up to discussion.

Continuing from Seoul, changes in the way we enjoy commercial facilities during the pandemic, as well as the latest trends in lighting environments were presented.

Five locations in Japan were connected online. Mr. Tsukasa Masuda, who was involved in a town-wide event in the Nagano district of Itoshima City, Fukuoka, presented how the illumination of the handcrafted event site attracted people, and how lighting design became a communication tool.

Mr. Kohsak Matsumoto reported from Midosuji in Osaka. He talked about the illumination of 750 ginkgo trees along Midosuji and the warm light directed to “paper tigers” made by local children, which was a new program added to this year’s illumination event.

Ms. Kaori Endo from Sapporo presented the current situation of Sapporo as well as the impact of the Covid-19 on lighting design works related to tourism. She said she would like people to visit Hokkaido to see the contrast of light and scenery in winter and summer after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms. Kaori Umeda in Sendai explained, from Tenshukaku (Castle Tower) Natural Park in Akiu, about the illumination event “Akiu Night Museum” which she was involved in. She presented various illuminations in the park that used more than 500 lighting fixtures and expressed her feelings towards the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Ms. Motoko Ishii presented the projects that were realized in Tokyo in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, such as the “Infinity Diamond Veil” at Tokyo Tower, and the grand roof of Nippon Budokan. She expressed the dynamism of Tokyo and the inheritance of Japanese culture using LED, and emphasized the importance of lighting designers’ commitment to incorporating green energy into the next generation design.

Lastly, Ms. Ashley Robbins, the interim chief executive officer from the IALD Headquarters, gave a greeting in her video letter for the finale of the event, stating her hopes for further development of the lighting industry in Asia in an era of the new normal.