Episode 05

It's amazing stuff. Thanks for sharing that. Uh, and we'll, we'll pick up more of that as we talk about what's ahead in 2025. Jack, let's give you a moment to tell our listeners about the innovation that's been taking place at the studio. And it's not just in 2024. You have been spearheading collaborations with Uh, National Children's Museum, the Barbican, uh, I think about, you know, some of the early exhibitions you had mentioned, Microworld, Vertigo, 2024, uh, featured this, this unique exhibition in London called Eclipse by this, uh, Franco Japanese, uh, artistic duo, uh, Nonotak.

Tell us a little bit about the genesis of Lumen as a studio, as a place [00:36:00] that it can collaborate with these artists and really put a spotlight on their capabilities and bring the works, right, make it approachable for people of all ages. So, the genesis of this would have started, uh, before I joined Lumen, with something called the Lumen Global Tour.

whereby a group of finalists, as we now call them, Sort of torch involved in that? Yeah, there was a torch. Well, funny enough, one of the, one of the first ones of this was in Greece. I'm in Athens. So there you go. There's a direct, there's always an anecdote, Dan. There's always an anecdote. Um, uh, whereby museums would be approached or venues would be approached and say, Hey, do you want to see some of the, you know, would your audience love to see the, the latest and greatest in art and technology?

And, and that tool kind of got some recognition. And as Lumen grew in, uh, its, uh, stature and more people hearing about Lumen, we started to [00:37:00] get more and more inbound calls from museums or other kind of cultural venues or other, uh, types of space, um, that were really keen to have digital and interactive art, you know, for their audiences.

Um, so besides the prize, we started to develop. The second, this arm of Lumen where we would focus on not only kind of supporting artists through helping them with visas or anything like that, you know, when they would come to us and say, we need your help, we're trying to give them paid opportunities where they can kind of support their practice into the future, um, continue to create new work.

So by doing these varied opportunities, as you mentioned the Barbican, and that was a series of commissions where the Barbican would come to Lumen and say, you know, you're, you guys have some great artists on your roster. Um, you know, could we commission something through you with them? Um, for, for our spaces, and we did a program with them for three years, um, and each year we would have a new artwork where we'd commission that in partnership with the Barbican, um, for their audiences.

[00:38:00] Um, we, we've, I think I was trying to count it up. I think I've done just over 70, uh, uh, commissions and exhibitions and, and kind of arts events in my time at Lehman. Um, and, and those have been all around the world. We, we, we do a, uh, quite a few exhibitions in China, across that country. Um, uh, and last year we had our most successful one year in Wuhan, which I think sort of tens of thousands of visitors through, through that exhibition space in a short time, which is quite exciting.

Um, alongside the exhibitions, we work with institutions to do things like artist residencies. Where we would bring, uh, a selection of artists to that institution and say, you know, who do you think would fit what you're trying to achieve and work with them to develop that brief and bring it again to their audience or their, or their students.

Um, and last year, as you rightly mentioned, we, we created Eclipse, which was a, uh, an immersive experience by NonoTak, um, which took visitors through three large, [00:39:00] Interactive installations, um, lasting around 40 minutes and to kind of give that audience, you know, who may not be the museum audience, but a different kind of group of people access to that type of work.

And that is something I'm really focusing on. Uh, well, not really, but a part of my broader portfolio of focusing on to 2025 is how can we bring new technologies through arts to audiences that might not have access to them. You know, to maybe be that spark moment in that kid or that young adult, they might really get involved in that, in that workshop that we might put on, and then they might discover the Lumen Prize, enter the Lumen Prize, win an award, you know, and that's that kind of full circle that one day I'm really hoping to see a kind of cultural cycle of support.

Um, throughout the creatives kind of, uh, progress through their career. Um, and as, you know, we talk about things like community a lot more, you, you know, we all need [00:40:00] places for community. And I've been researching a lot about third spaces and the loss of a third space. So what I mean by that is you have your home where you live and this place you work, or maybe you work from home.

Um, but where do you go for your recreation time? If it's not maybe the gym. Or, or is it maybe like your local cafe or restaurant and how can you make those sites better and build community around it? And I think you can do that through the arts. Um, so areas that I'm looking for, especially are in places like libraries, um, gyms, uh, uh, any kind of community center at a different kind of scale to what you, what Lumen does alongside the kind of big museum exhibitions that we create.

So I'm trying to really kind of, you know, engage audiences with art, um, through technology where they feel they can maybe have a hand in that and kind of understand something and learn something at the same time. So in the news, when they're hearing about AI or web three, you know, they [00:41:00] maybe have some tangible.

On connection to it through creativity, which, you know, if we talk at length, you know, it is kind of going to be very important for future employment across a lot of, um, areas. So that's where I see luminous is kind of, you know. Catalyst for, for creativity, not only with artists, but with audience, too. I love that vision.

Jillian's heard me talk about my hope and desire that in the not too distant future, when I go and check into a hotel, things are sufficiently personalized that, uh, rather than just showing imagery of their food and beverage options or their pool and spa options. That you're actually greeted in the room with visually stunning digital art.

There is a television set there. That's all you need to display. And I envision a future where they already know my [00:42:00] preferences. Many hotels do know my preferences. They know what type of bed you want. They know that Jillian doesn't want to be next to an elevator. So they've captured that data. It's not a far stretch to say they're gonna, they're gonna know that she's particularly fond of generative.

Works as an example and be able to showcase that either works that she owns because she's revealed Specific pieces that are in a digital wallet that she controls or pieces that she may be interested in and may want to purchase And I think all of those become opportunities further opportunities to showcase lumen artists including in ways for people to To acquire works, right?

That process of discovery shouldn't be as daunting as walking into a major gallery Where most people would say they feel intimidated, right? We want to create this environment as you say that it's all around us. It's something we encounter at the library It's something [00:43:00] we encounter at the fitness facility.

It's something we may see at the airport Rather than watching unhappy news on CNN. So, I think it is quite inspiring. Can we take a minute to talk about 2024 in a bit more detail? And what you set out to accomplish, what you hold up as Uh, sort of the key, uh, the key aspects of, of how Lumen progressed over the course of 2024.

And then I want to turn to the year.

2024 was a year of growth for us. Jack, I can talk to the prize if you'd like to talk to our exhibition side, the, the goal for 2024 on the prize side was to grow our reach and our community. We are proud to say we [00:44:00] achieved that in spades. We doubled the number of applications that we received in 2024. We doubled the jury panel, uh, the International Selectors Committee, uh, for the prize.

We deepened our institutional relationships. So our, our judges on both panels hail from all over the world, truly representing some of the world's finest institutions, we secured partnerships with major brands. We had a very first charity auction with Sotheby's where we established a really, I think, beautiful tradition in that past winners and finalists.

Donated their works to be sold at Sotheby's, a major global auction house, and the proceeds were split between next year's prize pool. And the artists who contributed, which was a really beautiful way. I alluded to earlier to paying it forward, big part of the [00:45:00] Lumen ethos. So that took place. That was a wonderful initiative.

We secured partnerships with brands like Fiden, the book publisher, um, to And what's their, what's their interest? What's their angle? Well, I can only speak to, uh, our side of things, but really Fiden at its core works with some of the world's most visionary creators from chefs to interior designers, and they recently published a book on CryptoPunks.

So this is an area of interest to them, and they worked with us to both inspire the winners from this year, they gave a beautiful book, a curated, personalized book to each of the winners for this year to really encourage And reward them, but also an affiliation with the community that is so rich in creativity and innovation and some of the world's [00:46:00] most forward thinking artists is, I think, deeply a creative to their own brand what they stand for and lumen artists could very well feature in their publications going forward.

I think we operate at that caliber. So I think it's a match perfect for this time.

Jack. I think for me in reflection, I look back on 2024, it was a test of processes, right? How can I, how can lumen, you know, we ran a project for, for a year, um, remotely. So a complex digital installation for a year, remotely seeing thousands of people, thousands of interactions, and how, how it was, it was a way to see that, you know, our vision for how we can bring art into places that don't have art yet, um, can succeed.

Um, I think for me, that is actually one of the most rewarding things that happened, running a [00:47:00] complex project, finding these issues, solving them out of hours so that the visitor experience was kind of perfect. Um, I think, you know, we, we, we had some really great touring projects that Lumen run, um, uh, that, that ran, uh, predominantly in the UK, but again, saw lots and lots of visitors.

We did this incredible production called Eclipse. It was technically challenging, you know, we came through all of the technical issues and resolved them all and created something that was actually genuinely, I think, spectacular in places, and that definitely resonated with a large group of audience. We got a lot of great press about this project.

It definitely was an exciting thing to be part of. Um, I think that the breadth of artists that come through the prize, as always, we talk about that fly world, Julian and I, only adds to the opportunity that we will be able to kind of capitalize on in supporting them and bringing their practice broadly, not just their winning artworks, but projects they may be working [00:48:00] on right now, um, to, to audiences, uh, and I, and I think, you know, we, we have some exciting plans for 2025 about how we approach what we offer.

But. And how do we make that accessible to different locations, to different budgets and to Um, different audiences, you know, maybe 2024 was kind of a learning by doing and now we've learned and now we're going to do more doing, I think, in 2025. I love that idea that Lumen is a learning organization, right?

Uh, you're, you're coming up on your 15th year, but it's still day one, Jack. And, uh, I could tell you when you mention the Eclipse exhibition, I was fortunate to, to visit it. A few months ago, and you know, my observation, at least in that second room, and I know we'll be able to show images from it. [00:49:00] I have come to listen to a certain white noise each evening when I sleep, which is waves crashing.

I forget the app that I use, but it's quite soothing because you think of some remote island, and that's my happy place. What occurred to me walking through that second part of the eclipse installation where they have the lights on both sides of the walls that are doing their special dance, you think about motion lighting, if you get up in the middle of the night, you need to use the bathroom to get up early in the morning.

Start the day. How great would that be? If that's what greets you rather than this clunky alarm, but there is a sequenced series of lights And music accompaniment that gets you up and out and you're, you're cranking, Jack. I think Lumen, at least from my perspective, has always had a bit of [00:50:00] a hacker mentality.

Like, how do you push things and make them work in places that it shouldn't really be, you know? And I definitely think there's a way to productize ideas creatively. Um, as long as they have, like, you know, a true intent. Um, that could mean that, you know, maybe there is a way through using some of your Philips smart light bulbs that I'm sure you have, Dan.

You could program them in, um, with some lateral thinking and think, you know, what do I want in the morning? Do I want, you know, You know, Jack, it's quite, it's quite dark where you're sitting. Shall I share some of my XS light bulbs with you? Or did you actually take away lights? Sitting here watching the sun set and thinking, I didn't plan for enough light at this time of day where I am at.

I'm very sorry. Maybe we can, uh, we can, we can record me. Well, I know our audience would understand. You go to, you spare no expense and, and you, you will do whatever is necessary to get that exhibition to its fullest [00:51:00] potential. And even if that means taking lights out of your particular, I'm in my office right now, Dan, and just the floor is entangled cables and things like this.

So there probably is some extra light source in there. Um, yes, I'm not really fire hazards whatsoever. Do not talk to me about risk assessment. That is in my past. Shall we? Shall we conclude by looking ahead? What is exciting you both the most? When we talk about 2025, Jillian mentioned in passing, uh, the number of artists that are beginning to submit applications from places like the Middle East.

which has its own, uh, burgeoning contemporary art movement. This particular month, I know that, uh, there is the Islamic biennial that is kicking off in Saudi. We see [00:52:00] growing interest from various parts of Asia, and they are submitting unique works. And so, Lumen's Reach truly is global, which is one of the things I found fascinating.

Uh, tell us a little bit about, What you what you'd like to conclude 2025 having achieved Jillian, please. Well, ultimately, we'd like to reach as many artists as possible and witness through our judging process, new and innovative ways of creating. We have some new and exciting categories this year. That reflect our understanding of just how broad the very concept of digital art is.

We have a fashion category for the first time. We have a literature and poetry category for the first time. We are being as inclusive as possible. And I'm looking forward to closing out the year, seeing just what our artists new and existing come up with and [00:53:00] submit to us and what that will do to bring our industry forward.

We're looking forward to deepening our partnerships with institutions around the world. We are in search of a, of a home for our 2025 award ceremony. So we're excited to find that special partner who can bring a well lit. A well lit, uh, well lit, well, Lumen, ironically, Lumen is all about light. So, um, Jack didn't get the momo today, I guess, but The thing is, guys, right, you've missed a trick now, because you can't edit this.

You can't edit my video to make it seem as if I'm always light. So you're just stuck with, with what you've got. We'll take it. We'll take it. And I guess, lastly, we are looking to find connoisseurs all over the world who are interested in the type of creativity that we support. We create [00:54:00] exhibitions from scratch with artists from all over the world who bring a unique eye and vision to the work of creating art.

And we hope to find new partners who are interested in sharing that work with us. and hosting unique exhibitions, be it in schools, in malls, in hotels. We are creating art every day, helping artists create art, bringing new exhibitions to life. And we are looking for interested parties who share our vision and who want to use art as a way to bring people together and enlighten those around the world about what Creativity can be.

Can I ask you what comps one should think of when they, uh, will scroll forward for the lumen prize? Where is the Turner prize? I grant [00:55:00] that there are all sorts of different awards and prizes, different amounts of money. Uh, I've never thought that this is fundamentally about the money. It's about recognition and it's about elevating.

This, this type of artwork, tell us in your, your mind's eye, how big does, how big can Lumen become? I think it can become as big as the artists who work with us make it. We have very large aspirations and on the point of money, yes, it's I think secondary to the work we do of supporting artists and their career comprehensively, but We have doubled our prize pool for the last two years.

It's now at 30, 000, the biggest it's ever been. And we are, we are getting up to a threshold that is comparable to major global prizes, such as the Turner prize. [00:56:00] And I want to distinguish. Between what we do and what other prizes like the Turner Prize do, we ultimately have aspirations to have a platform akin to that of Turner.

It's global, it's extremely prestigious, but we also want to be inclusive. We are not a, we are, have an open call. Right. We accept we invite anybody to participate and that is our greatest strength. We are not a invitation to apply based prize. And it is our intent to stay that way to ensure that no matter where you are in the world, if you have an internet connection, if you have an ability to press submit.

On a web page. We want you to participate in the lumen prize because we think your idea is valuable. It is novel and we have an interest in elevating creativity with technology and that ultimately is where we differentiate ourselves. We will always be a champion for the emerging artists. And we will always seek [00:57:00] out corners of the world that are underrepresented and we will continue that work tirelessly.

Can we just hit pause for one quick sec? I need to dispose of someone at this door and then let's conclude and we'll fit it in. Jack, I'll give you a moment to consider your final words.

Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. I mean it.

Thank you. [00:58:00] Thank you, Robin. Compliments are always welcome. Uh, okay, we're going to resume in 321. Jack, let's turn to you. When you think about 2025, what's most exciting on the horizon? And then I want to turn to the call to action. If I'm out on the street, who is it that I should be seeking to connect to?

To Lumen. Jillian mentioned seeking a venue for 2020 fives Gala. There are plenty of organizations, commercial organizations, major companies, financial institutions. I mean, there are plenty that have supported things like Art Basel, but. That's done. UBS has it. BMW provides the transportation for it. There are lots of other brands that should want to be right here at this intersection of art and technology.

[00:59:00] And so maybe we need to flash a phone number so they know who to call because to me it is a no brainer. Well, for me, 2025, I think, you know, I'm already working with some artists to create projects, you know, that would be suitable for a lot of different places. Um, and seeing those come to life and making them accessible in different ways, different price points and, uh, optional in using different materials is really exciting.

We're going to be able to meet so many different clients going forward with our products. Um, you know, Lumen has this past history as we talk about. We have the experience in the UK. We work with the Financial Conduct Authority, which is a big. Uh, uh, organization, you know, we've worked with the biggest housing developer in the UK to produce.

curated artworks and commissions for their communities and their public spaces. You rightly mentioned our children's museum relationship, Dan, that is still going strong after [01:00:00] five years. Um, we've worked with major museums regularly to support work in making their exhibitions come to life. If you have a shopping mall, we've got experience in turning your empty units.

Into immersive experiences for your audience to keep driving football back to your venue If you have and there's evidence jack in your experience, there's evidence that it does drive foot traffic More so than, let's say, the Santa Claus exhibition in December? I think there is. We worked with Leeds Docks, um, which was a development by, uh, Allied London, which is a very large property developer here in the UK and potentially abroad, um, to support the regeneration of a number of units around Leeds Docks.

Um, we hosted, uh, artworks in a number of these units over several weekends. With queues down the street and around the corner and that revitalization helped those units become Become [01:01:00] least, you know become taken on by other businesses because it was seen that there was opportunity there and there were people In the area we would attend that site We've worked in a heritage we've worked in castles before to help revitalize their audiences and offer them something different a goal for this year might be to get work in a cathedral or other Religious building.

You know, why not have this? My new favorite phrase is a rave in the nave. Um, and makes that, you know, bring community. Notre Dame just reopened Jack. Okay, just across the tunnel. Exactly. Exactly. So the opportunity really is as far as my or our imaginations can think of. Um, my kind of call to action would be, you know, if you want to drive footfall, if you want something unique that isn't your Santa's Grotto, that will allow you to stand out from your competitors in the next state or down the road, you know, Lumen has probably the best network of creative people.

Our [01:02:00] artists, as Julian rightly say, span the, like, you know, we cross that spectrum across any type of technology you can think of. We have someone working in there who has been recognized by our incredible judging process, and who would be more than willing to work with us and yourself to make a unique experience to your community.

Or if you don't have that kind of timeline, we have exhibitions ready to go that we could bring to you. In two to three weeks that we can tailor within reason to meet your audience as well. Um, you know, we have something for everyone. Yeah, we have the experience to make it and run it. So there's no need to be scared.

The things we make work and we can ensure to all of our clients that you won't have to worry about. Opening up one day and it not working. Um, you know, we have a 99 percent success rate every day that we offer it, for sure. When we have you back, Jack, and we will have you back, not only will you be [01:03:00] perfectly lit, but we will dissect that 1%.

We should. And it's never mine. Just so you know. It's never our fault. No, of course it's not your fault. We will definitely point the blame somewhere. Uh, Jillian, last word before we have to depart. If I could leave the listener with one message, it's that Lumen is truly a unicorn. Everything that we've spoken about, our 14 year track record, our 900 artists around the world from 65 countries, 2000 applicants last year, 30, 000 prize pool.

This is all achieved with a team of six people. We are a small team. We care deeply. And I would say that. Blue Man is the ultimate investment grade organization. We are working at the forefront of technology. We are deeply trusted and we are looking to grow and expand to the benefit of the artists we work with every day.

And there are so many ways that you can get involved. [01:04:00] If you're an artist, if you know somebody who's creative. Encourage them to apply this year. The open call starts on January 31st. We have a number of new categories this year that I had alluded to. I feel confident that it encompasses any type of practice.

So put, uh, you know, put yourself out there, right. Apply to the Lumen Prize. If you are a creative individual, we look forward to reviewing your work and having. One of our judges review that work. We are looking for partners to help us in our mission. So be it financial support, Lumen Prize is a non profit.

To lending your time, your talent, your treasure. So if you are an individual who is well qualified in digital art, get in touch with us, if you think you'd like to be a part of judging this year's prize, we are always looking for exceptional individuals who have a passion for giving back in this space.

And if you're in a [01:05:00] venue, if you're an institution that would like to have more. made with technology. If you are an individual who likes to collect this type of art, or you know somebody who does, Get in touch with us. We are looking to bring more art to more eyeballs around the world, ultimately to the benefit of artists.

And there is a place for you in Lumen. So join our mission and be a part of 2025 because it'll be our best year yet. Thank you both. Uh, this has been a lot of fun. I Metaversal are very fortunate that we have such a unique. Working relationship with Lumen and we're going to continue to do all that we can to elevate this organization and elevate the artists that have been so fundamental to this movement, which I believe is still in its early innings.

We will look back a few decades from now [01:06:00] and smile at at this call to action because people will implicitly live their lives surrounded by. Art and technology. Have a great week, guys. Good to be with you and look forward to having you again.