Anna Burles
Anna is the founder of award-winning design agency Run For The Hills. The London-based studio specialise in hospitality design, working on both commercial and residential spaces. Founded by Chris Trotman and Anna Burles 10 years ago, they are renowned as the go-to design team for premium casual dining lifestyle brands, designing highly original bars, restaurants, boutique cinemas, members clubs, boutique residential and hotels.Their work combines branding, interiors and web design, creating highly original in-venue graphics and art, interwoven seamlessly within their effortlessly cool interior designs. They design cutting edge projects at home in the UK but also work internationally, with current projects in France, Switzerland and Bahrain. Anna is a Registered Member of the British Institute of Interior Design and sits on the BIID Membership Committee. She is also part of the Advisory Board of KLC School of Interior Design in Chelsea Harbour, where she occasionally lectures.
Juan Ferrari
Juan has worked in lighting from a young age, first in theatre and for the past 18 years in architectural lighting. He is passionate about lighting narrative and its effects on people, having perception at the forefront of his design.
He believes that design is about collaboration and takes responsibility for creating environments in which people feel valued and empowered, seek opinions, share ideas, and foster an open platform where people can express themselves to help them achieve their full potential.
He has a particular view about the challenges that we are facing, he is committed to succeed and encourages people to work together, he observes: "Never in my life, not for a single second, I’ve thought we had to be environmentally conscious with our actions to save the planet. Humans, we are such an arrogant bunch, thinking that we can save it! We just need to be as clever and as dedicated as possible, using our skills and intelligence to service this environmental catastrophe. By doing this, we might be able to have a place for ourselves and our future generations in this beautiful world we live in. My arrogant self thinks we can do this together."
Juan studied lighting design at RCSSD and he is a Member SLL and CIBSE. He enjoys talking about lighting and he actively participates as speaker for industry events nationally and internationally and has been invited to talk and lecture by prestigious institutions such as PLDC, ILP, RADA and IED.
Helen Marriage
Helen Marriage is Director of Artichoke, one of the UK’s most innovative creative companies. Founded in 2006, the company’s presentation of Royal de Luxe’s The Sultan’s Elephant in the heart of central London set a benchmark for large-scale spectacles that invade public space and reinvent the notion of a city’s landscape.
In 2009 Artichoke began its landmark Lumiere series in Durham with events following on in Derry~Londonderry and London. Artichoke has worked across Great Britain and the north of Ireland with Deborah Warner/Fiona Shaw’s Peace Camp as well as creating Temple in Derry in 2015. The following year saw Great Fire 350, a commemoration of the events of 1666 commissioned by the City of London Corporation. In 2018, Artichoke masterminded PROCESSIONS, a celebration of 100 years since the vote was first gained by women in the UK commissioned by 1418 Now. In 2019 she was appointed Creative Director of Galway 2020, European Capital of Culture.
Artichoke came out of lockdown with its Women Making History exhibition, Orlando Gough’s Ready to Drop and in 2022 Sanctuary, a post-Covid memorial made with and for the people of Bedworth, Warwickshire.
Helen’s interests have always centred on the conjunction of art, civic disruption, public engagement and the transformation of daily life. In 2012, she was awarded a prestigious Loeb Fellowship at the Graduate School of Design in Harvard in recognition of her ongoing work with urban life. She was awarded an MBE for Services to the Arts in 2016. She was made a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2018. She was an Area Council member for Arts Council England in London until her resignation in February 2022.
Nick Wraith
Nick Wraith is the Managing Director of Unibox, Lighting Engineers. Nick has over 30 years of experience working alongside fellow creatives to design, manufacture and deliver industry-leading visual communication aids and lighting solutions. Recent Unibox projects include illuminated flooring with Light Panels for The Ivy Asia Restaurants, Linear Ceiling Luminaires for 70 St. Mary Axe and bespoke Ceiling Lightboxes for The Gilbert and One Lackington.
Dan Oakley
Dan is the Dark Skies Officer at the South Downs National Park Authority and International Dark Sky Reserve. He was responsible for creating and submitting the South Downs application to the IDA and continues to manages the National Parks delivery of dark skies. Dan uses his position to promote IDA messages, light pollution and astronomical opportunities to the residents and visitors of the South Downs. Originally a Physicist with an interest in astrophysics, Dan has further degrees in Wildlife Management, and a Masters in Environment, Policy and Society, but has happily swapped his time as a ranger with a chainsaw to delivery dark skies outreach behind a telescope. Dan is actively involved in enhancing lighting policy in the UK and is coordinating the establishment of a UK Dark Sky partnership with protected landscape partners with a goal of developing specific policies for dark skies. He also currently sits on the IDA Dark Sky Places Committee, is a director of IDA-UK Chapter and is the director Darkscape Consulting that provides specialist services for dark skies and light pollution.
Esther Patterson
Michael Grubb
With an impressive career that spans more than two decades, Michael has travelled all corners of the globe to work on a wide range of award-winning projects. As the founder and managing director of Michael Grubb Studio, he oversees the development and direction of the business.
The unwavering faith in Michael’s expertise is demonstrated by his partnership with world-leading brands including Diageo, Jameson, Guinness, McLaren, Amazon and Lavazza. He works closely with these companies to develop their unique ‘language of light’, to support and enhance their brand values.
Michael’s talent has led him to work on a wide range of building projects from new developments and major cities, across the world. He provides lighting masterplans for developers, local authorities and other major institutions.
Other notable successes include Michael’s appointment by the Olympic Delivery Authority to the prestigious role of Learning Legacy Ambassador for Lighting for the London 2012 Olympics.
As well as being a trusted voice within the lighting design profession, Michael’s commitment to sustainability led him to become the co-founder of the charitable Re:LIT initiative. He is keen activist on educating and promoting all aspects of lighting, including its importance in the global drive to reduce energy consumption and deliver carbon savings.
Michael’s innovation and vision led him to be crowned UK Lighting Designer of the Year in 2012.
