Blunite Memorial and Light-Art Festival: Using Light to Unite.
As a UCSB student, I served as the Production Manager and Lighting Director for Blunite, an organization that sought to heal the Isla Vista and UCSB communities in the wake of the 2014 mass-shooting. We used the blue LED light (an invention of UCSB's own Professor Shuji Nakamura, and one of our school's colors) as a symbol of unity, peace, and togetherness.
Annually, in addition to bathing our town and campus in blue light, we hosted a memorial vigil for the six lives lost in the Tragedy. These were followed the next week by "Lite the Nite" festivals, a "community light festival" with LED-illuminated carnival games, family-friendly activities, UCSB student bands, DJ's, and light-art installations. The event provided Isla Vista a safe and substance-free space to have fun and bond as a community, with light as a central symbol of healing and togetherness. Up to 2,500 students attended each year, but the effects were felt community-wide.
As Production Manager and Lighting Director, I worked as a second-hand to the Student Lead, managing a $50,000 budget of grant funding, as well as large crews of student volunteers during our bustling events. My lighting roles included co-designing, budgeting, interfacing with event lighting companies, consulting with campus authorities and local businesses to help them “go blue” with lighting effects, and some installation.