Co-funded by the European Commission as part of the ‘Creative Europe’ programme, Shape The Light was a 30-month European educational project. It aimed to bring together the worlds of lighting, the arts and culture. In Belgium, it was coordinated by KU Leuven (together with the cluster Groen Licht Vlaanderen), alongside four other specialist clusters across Europe. The programme involved training courses, practical workshops and networking events designed to foster collaboration between creatives and professionals in the lighting sector.

This year, the partners of SHAPE-THE-LIGHT, a European project developed under the European Union’s Creative Europe programme, attended the IALD Enlighten Europe conference, which took place in Paris in june. The event offered a valuable opportunity to gather new inspiration, discuss current topics in the lighting industry, and meet interesting people with their projects, questions and perspectives.

The partners were invited to present the results of the #ShapeTheLight initiative, which was due to come to an end on 7 July 2026. The special round-table discussion on 19 June entitled ‘Shape the Light: art for light, light for art’ brought together the project’s European partners to explain how our four lighting clusters have worked to bridge the worlds of art, design and technology. The session highlighted how the project has promoted co-creation, international collaboration and the exchange of knowledge between various stakeholders in the lighting design value chain, linking art, design, technology, sustainability and innovation.

As the icing on the cake, Sabine De Schutter, lighting designer, Womeninlighting ambassador and founder of Studio De Schutter, gave a talk tittled ‘Let There Be Re-Use — Circular Thinking in Lighting Design’. 

Thank you to all the partners and to all contributors during the project for their valuable contributions!

Catherine Lootens (KU Leuven - for Groen Licht Vlaanderen), Alberto Sozza & Antonella Venza (Rete di Imprese Luce in Veneto), Andrea Padré (CICAT Lighting Cluster) and Mary Hadidi (Cluster Lumière).