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Can you believe we made it to episode 3? In this episode we talk with Linda Conrad of Stan Hywet and Philippe Bergeron of Paintscaping to hear about Stan Hywet’s LightNights 3D mapping and projection show. Then we reach out to Marc Schwartz to learn about Detroit’s “Dlectricity” light art festival. And lastly

we briefly hear from Bill Behrendt as we talk about how important it is to be an advocate for the arts in your community.

Linda Conrad has been leading the charge at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens for the last 8 years. She’s done a lot to turn this historic home into a place where people visit for tours and special events all throughout the year. Stan Hywet has even gotten some national attention for it’s Christmas tours, putting it in the spotlight with such historic places as the Biltmore Estate.

However, bringing the LightNights show may be one of Conrad’s greatest achievements. LightNights takes the historic Seiberling home and turns it into the canvas for a 3D projection show that you have to see to believe.

The show is put together by a California based 3D modeling and projection company called Paintscaping. In this episode we also talked with Paintscaping’s CEO, Philippe Bergeron by

phone while he was at the airport waiting for his flight to Akron so he could get setup for the opening night of the show.

Paintscaping has worked with Tiffany & Co, helped create a commercial for BMW, and even helped design a video with Calvin Harris and Rihanna that has been viewed on YouTube over 1 billion times.

Now Bergeron is bringing his breathtaking work to Akron for what is one if Paintscaping’s largest historical narratives they’ve ever created for a show.

The LightNights show covers the history of Stan Hwyet as well as the business history of the Seiberling family.

Bergeron’s background in the early days of computer animation helped him get to the work he’s doing now. He first gained recognition with the creation of a computer animated short called “Tony de Peltrie” from 1985.  Oh, and between then and now, Bergeron found time to be an actor, playing character roles in some pretty memorable productions.

(I made a mistake in the podcast during the segment on Philippe Bergeron. I said John Lasseter of Pixar Animation was the host of Siggraf the year “Tony de Peltrie” made its debut. However, he was a judge that year. My apologies. – RR)

Then we talk with Marc Schwartz to learn about Detroit’s “Dlectricity” light art festival. It’s a two day event happening September 22 & 23 in downtown Detroit. The festival displays work from local artists as well as artists from all over the world – lighting up a 1-mile strip of Detroit in the process. This year they will feature work from Rashaad Newsome, Pope L, and many others.

We also talk about one of the biggest attractions of the event, the Light Bike Parade. The Light Bike Parade is sponsored by Detroit based company, Shinola, and in past years has hosted as many as 4000 bikes lit up for a “slow roll” on a course that outlines the festival’s footprint.

Can’t get enough of lights events? Be sure to check out the 1st Annual Glow Bike Ride hosted by City Councilwoman, Tara Mosley-Samples on Sept 8.

And check out Video Games Live featuring the Akron Symphony Orchestra playing video game themes to a synchronized light show on Oct 28 at EJ Thomas Hall.

Then to wrap up the episode, we hear a small piece of the talk we hosted with Bill Behrendt, the executive director of Ohio Citizens for the Arts. He discusses why being an advocate for the arts is so important in 2017.

Be sure to tell your art loving friends and family about “Gimme ArtsNow”. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher.

And big thanks to Summit County MC, Floco Torres, for doing our credits this episode. I owe you one.

HA!