Bristol’s Royal West of England Academy
UK - Bristol’s oldest gallery, the Royal West of England Academy (RWA), sought the help of GDS to bring their Africa State of Mind exhibition to life for their ‘After Hours’ event. The exhibition featured photography from all over the African continent so the RWA wanted to use vibrant lighting to evoke the beauty of a Saharan sunset.
Having already worked with the Bristol-based lighting manufacturer to transform their gallery and workshop studio spaces in 2019, the RWA were keen to see the bespoke lighting design GDS could create to enhance both their external and internal spaces during the event.
In order to achieve the rich colour palette that the RWA desired over such a large-scale area, GDS chose FOS, Brick and X-Brick fixtures from Italian lighting manufacturer DTS to create a carefully-crafted, even wash of light over the entire façade of the impressive building. A GDS brand partner since last year, DTS products deliver consistent power, and the output of their Brick fixture is so impressive, it could be seen even in broad daylight.
To mirror the natural beauty of sundown on the Sahara, GDS programmed five minute-long colour sequences of vivid red, amber and orange into rich purple and deep indigo, using gradients to create a subtle ambience.
Internally, GDS used uplighters and 2 DTS Alchemy 5’s to light up the RWA’s famous dome. The 6-colour light engine and soft edged beam of the Alchemy 5 helped to create a soft gradient of light, that bathed the entrance hall and grand staircase in amber-white, burnt-orange, blue and purple, beautifully complimenting the striking lighting scene outside.
GDS product manager Hallam Smith who created the display said, “Lighting up such an impressive façade in our home city of Bristol was a wonderful opportunity, and we were blown away by the ability of the DTS Brick range to create such an impressive result with only a small number of luminaires. Collaborating with the RWA to create a lighting scheme for their evening event was the perfect scenario to showcase the impressive light output of the DTS Brick range, and we were delighted with the outcome.”
RWA’s events manager, Arianne Fournier-Carey, added, “GDS were wonderful with delivering our idea into a beautiful reality. Lots of attendees complimented on the beautiful lighting and it certainly made the event special and memorable.”
(Jim Evans)

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