Lyon Creative Lighting Forum
Keynote
Philippe Geluck, Artist and Cartoonist – Creator of Le Chat
A veritable one-man-band, illustrator, comedian, actor, and man of radio and television, Philippe Geluck was born in Brussels in 1954 into a family steeped in the arts.
In 1976, he founds the Théâtre Hypocrite and, for ten years or so, he pursues his career as an actor in Belgium’s leading theatres.
On March 22, 1983, at the request of Le Soir, Le Chat appeared for the first time in a supplement to the daily newspaper. More than 8,000 drawings have been published there since then.
From 1979 to 2006, he created, hosted and took part in thousands of radio and TV programmes in Belgium, for RTBF, Belgium’s national francophone broadcaster, and RTL, and in France – France 2, France Inter, Europe 1. He appears regularly on the prime-time TV shows of Michel Drucker and Laurent Ruquier.
At the same time, he draws and paints and exhibits his wacko drawings and watercolours in galleries in Brussels, Paris, London, Milan, Copenhagen, Neuchâtel and Dallas, New York, …
In 2003, the major exhibition ‘Le Chat s’expose’ celebrates 20 years of our feline hero, drawing more than 350,000 visitors in Paris, Brussels, Bordeaux and Rennes. In 2016, ‘L’art et Le Chat’ initiates visitors, young and old, into key works in the history of art – with Geluck’s typical humour. Since then, drawings, canvasses and sculptures by Philippe Geluck have been exhibited in numerous contemporary galleries and art fairs.
Since 1986, 25 albums of Le Cat have been published by Casterman, as well as six best-of’s, a number of books and collections of biting cartoons, and three exhibition catalogues: ‘Le Chat s’expose’, ‘Art and Le Cat’, and ‘Le Cat Walks’.
Philippe Geluck is now actively working on the Musée du Chat et du dessin d’humour, which will open in Brussels. In the meantime, he is organising a travelling exhibition of 20 monumental bronze sculptures. ‘Le Chat déambule’ was inaugurated on the Champs Élysées in Paris in 2021 before moving on to a dozen of European cities. If you are coming to Lyon for the Creative Lighting Forum, you’ll have the opportunity to visit his sculptures of Le Chat, on display in the “Tête d’Or” park.
Speakers
Philip Ross, Owner – Studio Philip Ross
Philip Ross is a light designer, artist and researcher, based in Eindhoven the Netherlands. The intersection of art, design, and science serves as an endless source of inspiration for his work. These works are always open: co-shaped by people and the environment.
Philip exhibits internationally at light festivals, writes about light and is a regularly invited speaker.
From January 2026 onwards, he will continue to explore the versatile potential of light art as director of GLOW Eindhoven.
Sebnem Gemalmaz, Associate – Arup
Sebnem Gemalmaz is an urban planner and lighting designer with 19 years of experience and dual master’s degrees in urban design (YTU) and Lighting Design (KTH). She headed Arup’s lighting business in Istanbul for 11 years, delivering large-scale urban projects and lighting plans that embed social value, sustainability, and inclusive design. From Stockholm to Shah Alam, she has led strategic lighting projects across several cities.
Now based in Dublin, Sebnem works internationally, advancing lighting approaches that respond to the emotional and social dimensions of cities. Sebnem brings a distinctive urbanist lens to lighting, weaving together philosophy, urban design, and sociology to create engaging and equitable public spaces. Her work pays particular attention to the needs of vulnerable groups and the role of play in fostering connection and joy in nighttime environments.
Named one of the international 40 under 40 lighting designers in 2019, Sebnem is also an ambassador for the Women in Lighting movement and a guest lecturer at several universities.
Lionel Bessières, Lighting designer – Quartiers Lumières, and Secretary – Association des Concepteurs Lumière et Eclairagistes
Lionel Bessières is a lighting designer and ENSIP-trained engineer with a deep passion for the magic of light. He began his career as an assistant to renowned designer Pierre Bideau, contributing to major projects such as the illumination of the Eiffel Tower and the lighting of other prestigious heritage sites.
Since 2006, he has led Quartiers Lumières, a lighting design agency known for combining creativity and technical precision through a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach. His key projects include the Hédas district in Pau, the Capitole, the Valentré Bridge in Cahors, and several Lighting Master Plans, Dark Sky frameworks, and urban design projects across France.
Carolina Scorsone, Lighting Designer – Quartiers Lumières & Association des Concepteurs Lumière et Eclairagistes
Carolina Scorsone is a certified architect from the IUAV University of Architecture in Venice and has been a lighting designer since 2017. She developed her knowledge and sensitivity to light at the Voyons Voir agency in Paris, specialised in indoor lighting for the luxury sector. There, she designed and managed numerous projects in France and abroad, tefining her technical expertise and her understanding of lighting environments.
Since 2022, she has been a lighting designer for Quartiers Lumières, where she has been developing her skills through various public projects. She works on both indoor and outdoor realisations, at different scales, bringing rigour and precision while cultivating a creative mind and a sensitive approach to light.
Julien Pavillard, Director of the Fête des Lumières – City of Lyon
Julien Pavillard is the Director of Events and Animation for the City of Lyon and has served as Director of the Fête des Lumières since 2020, where he also oversees the artistic direction.
After working as a social sciences researcher, he turned to the performing arts, cultural events, and large-scale image projection, leading him to collaborate on major international projects. He joined the City of Lyon in 2005 to take charge of the artistic direction of major Fête des Lumières projects until 2009.
He later founded and directed the agency Congo Bleu until 2020, through which he worked on numerous international events — creating lighting projects and image projections, as well as founding or directing several light festivals, notably in Tokyo, Schaerbeek (Brussels), Moscow, and Geneva.
Pecha Kuchas
Let There Be Play
Sharing Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces (OPUS)’ work in presenting active programming; how their background and learning as outdoor arts producers has allowed them to start creating playful light inspired work designed to get people up and moving!
OPUS is a producing house based in Birmingham, UK, and they are the Producers and Creative Directors of Birmingham Light Festival.
They create experiences that transform public spaces, bring communities together and make culture more accessible. They are an all-women, multidisciplinary arts and events company working nationally to produce standout cultural events and creative interventions. OPUS’ vision is to see neighbourhood spaces and places, and people’s wellbeing, transformed by culture. They collaborate with artists, clients and partners to reimagine spaces, turning them into dynamic, engaging and meaningful cultural destinations that leave a lasting impression.
Their Senior Producer, Rebecca Phillips, leads on OPUS’ place portfolio. With a strong passion for light, she specialises in cultural placemaking and public realm projects that connect people with culture, place and nature. Her work is rooted in the belief that well-designed cultural experiences can transform how communities feel about their city, fostering belonging, wellbeing and pride.
Presented by Rebecca Phillips, Senior Producer of Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces
Telling stories in public space
The Luminariste create stories in light for the public, through two types of installations that provide an overview of our intentions, approaches, and projects.
The story of Luminariste starts with Benjamin Nesme (light designer and stained glass artist) who founded Luminariste with the desire to mix the fields of application of light: spectacle and architecture, crafts and digital, by surrounding himself with the specialists better suited for each project. The meeting with Marc Sicard (illustrator and designer) crystallised a desire to tell tailor-made stories for the public space.
In a process close to the Arts & Crafts movement, wishing to put art at the service of the city and its inhabitants, we are inspired by places and events to tell lush and phantasmagorical, elegant and questioning stories.
Presented by Benjamin Nesme and Marc Sicard, Light Artists at Luminariste
A Double Creative Lens: Tigrelab & Tiler Gab
Mathieu Felix will introduce Tigrelab, the multimedia studio he co-founded in 2008 with Federico González and Javier Pinto, where he works as Creative Director — a studio known for its unconventional formats and immersive environments — and Tiler Gab, his new media art practice, exploring color in space, the value of slowness, and a deliberately raw use of technology.
Presented by Mathieu Felix, Artist, Creative Director and Owner of Tigrelab
LUMINA – behind the scenes
In this presentation, László Zsolt Bordos will share the processes he went through while creating his new work titled: LUMINA, a mapping at the St. Jean Cathedral, describing the challenges, obstacles and the solutions he met during creation.
László is an artist living in Budapest, Hungary. He started as a VJ in year 2000, performing in the underground party culture of Budapest. With his early 3d-vjing (2001-2004), his participation to large scale architectural slide projections (2002-2005) and his outrageous video projections and 3d mapping projects (2007-present), he became recognised as a pioneer of the genre.
He has presented his works in more than 40 countries, he participated at numerous exhibitions and art festivals, including the Mapping Festival Geneva, Glow Eindhoven, Signal Prague, Lux Helsinki, Ars Electronica Linz, Zentrum für Kunst und Media Karslruhe, Adelaide Festival of Arts and The Barbican London.
Presented by László Zsolt Bordos, Artist
Dublin City Council Dublin Winter Lights
The presentation discusses the Dublin City Council Dublin Winter Lights Festival. The festival started in 2018 and has gone from strength to strength in the last number of years.
The presentation will showcase some of the festivals highlights and will include a piece around the festival in 2025.
Presented by Philip Hughes, Clerical Officer for Dublin City Council
Fenêtre sur cour(s)
At the heart of the visual installations created for the Fête des Lumières, IntensCity — the specialist in digital light (mapping and lighting) — has been collaborating for several years with Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University on a student-led experimental project.
This partnership is mutually beneficial: IntensCity gains valuable feedback from students that supports the development of its seamless architectural lighting solution using video projection, while the students benefit from 20 years of expertise in lighting and video mapping.
This is a collaborative project carried out by two complementary programmes: the Professional Bachelor’s Degree in Lighting Design and Management at iaelyon School of Management, and the Brassart School in Lyon, which specialises in Artistic Direction, 3D Immersion, and Graphic Arts.
This workshop, developed by 25 students around the theme “Fenêtre sur cour(s)” — “Window(s) onto the Courtyard” —, will be projected onto the red-brick façade of the Manufacture des Tabacs (a 20th-century heritage site), during the Fête des Lumières in Lyon. The four projects — Cour sur pattes, Blumignon, Résonance, and Voyage d’un gone — will form the core of the visual installation, offering students the opportunity to put into practice their skills in lighting, graphic design, mapping, and video animation.
Presented by Pierre Reinisch, head of business development at Intenscity, two students from Lighting Design & Management at IAE Lyon University and two students from Art Direction, 3D Immersion, and Graphic Arts at Brassart school
Moderator
Jasmine van der Pol, Senior Programme Manager – LUCI Association
Jasmine van der Pol is programme manager at LUCI since 2022. With her international experience in the field of urban lighting, Jasmine helps to develop and support knowledge exchange within the LUCI network. She has the ambition to serve the urban lighting community and promote good lighting practices.
She contributes to various Working Groups and supports LUCI’s events and activities. Before joining LUCI, Jasmine worked as a lighting expert for an international manufacturer, engineering companies and lighting design agencies.