By Design Day, the joint fundraising day for Light Relief in the UK and Behind the Scenes in the US, is now in its third year and once again the organisers are hoping for a bigger response than ever before.
Scheduled this year for Saturday April 23, By Design Day has the full backing of a host of award-winning designers: Neil Austin, Scott Pask, Ken Billington, Howard Harrison, Ken Posner, Paule Constable, Scott Lehrer, Jennifer Tipton, Jonathan Deans, Tony Meola and Hugh Vanstone, along with Light Relief’s co-founder, Rick Fisher.
By Design Day is the chance for those in entertainment technology to support two charities dedicated solely to helping entertainment technology professionals in need. The organisers suggest that one way to support the day is by voluntarily giving a day’s royalties to one or both of these charities. Lighting designer Rick Fisher, for example, will be giving his royalties for April 23 from productions of Billy Elliot (pictured) around the world.
Light Relief assists those involved in the UK lighting industry while Behind the Scenes aids professionals based in the US and Canada working in any area of the entertainment technology industry.
Light Relief Day was founded in 2007 in the UK to honour the memory of founder Tony Gottelier and quickly gained support among designers with shows on the West End and on tour, and 2009 was the first year that the U.S. and Canada joined the day to benefit Behind the Scenes. Now the day is supported internationally with donations from designers with productions on all over the world. To date Light Relief has awarded more than £30,000 in grants to help lighting professionals and their families, while Behind the Scenes has issued almost $200,000 in grants to professionals working in all disciplines.
Photo credit: Alastair Muir
