Light City
Baltimore, 2013–2016
Photographs from the festival that transformed a city and changed my life.
FROM THE BOOK
It started with a flash of brilliance.
Or maybe delusion.
One of those ideas so improbable, you’re not sure whether to chase it or laugh it off.
We dreamed of something that fused all of it, the spectacle, the sweat, the thing that followed you home. We wanted to do that to a whole city.
THE ORIGINAL LIGHT CITY PITCH FILM, 2013
The two-minute film Justin and I made in our loft to help people see something that didn't exist yet.
WHAT IT BECAME
America’s first large-scale light and innovation festival.
Light City opened in March 2016 and drew more than 400,000 people.
Of its $3.9 million inaugural budget, approximately $1.2 million went directly to artist fees and commissions, supporting 29 large-scale light installations and more than 100 performances. Light City U, a six-day series of ticketed innovation conferences featuring national thought leaders, sold out in its inaugural year.
The festival generated $33.8 million in economic impact in its first year. During its three years as a standalone festival, 2016–2018, Light City drew more than 1.3 million attendees and generated $111.6 million for Baltimore’s economy, while unlocking an estimated $3.5–$4 million in artist fees and commissions.
THE GENESIS
The road trip where Light City began.
August 2, 2013
It was our first time away from our son, and Justin and I were heading south to Florida for the wedding of my best friend from college.
The sun was dropping low as we chased the horizon. Florence + the Machine flooded the speakers. We rolled the windows down and let the Southern air pour in, hot against our faces.
Light flickered between the trees, strobing like a secret message. Like the sky was speaking in code.
Somewhere along the way, we both discovered Vivid Sydney from opposite directions.
“This,” I said, turning the screen toward Justin. “This is it.”
In the same breath, the name dropped into my mouth fully formed.
Light City.
FROM THE BOOK
We stood before the city’s power players and spoke the idea aloud.
We threw a launch event at the Four Seasons. Cocktails sparkled beneath crystal chandeliers. Jazz filled the air.
I talked about what was possible in Baltimore. A festival of light, art, music, and innovation. A global stage for our artists and our businesses.
Ignatius talked about what had already been done in Sydney.
For an hour it felt like the whole city had said yes.
THE LIGHT CITY TEAM, March 28, 2014, The Four Seasons Baltimore
Left to right: Lindsey Davis, Brooke Hall, Ignatius Jones, Justin Allen
FROM THE BOOK
The stage we built.
The Creative Innovation Conference was the part of Light City we loved most.
Thinkers, artists, entrepreneurs and storytellers came to Baltimore from around the world. Every conference day sold out.
Justin and I emceed. I sat on panels, stood at podiums and told the story of how Light City came to be.
And somewhere on that stage, something opened in me.
My voice came through with a strength I had never felt before. It felt like stepping into a version of myself I hadn’t fully met yet.
THE LIGHT CITY U Conferences, 2016
Produced by What Works Studio, logistics by Intrinsic Events.
Photography by Philip Laubner, Theresa Keil, Larry Cohen, Matt Kelley, CharmingChop, 1304Photos, Dan Bailey, Greg Letterman, Isaiah Winters, & Brooke Hall.