This story was originally published in Architectural Lighting.

From March 13–14, the Designers Lighting Forum of New York's LEDucation hosted its 12th annual solid-state lighting trade show at the Hilton Midtown Manhattan Hotel in New York City. Drawing its largest crowd yet, this event was a platform for 287 manufacturers to showcase a range of indoor and outdoor lighting products to nearly 5,200 lighting professionals from around the world. The show also offered more than 30 AIA-accredited educational sessions, eight of which were a series of lighting controls seminars. On view across two sold-out exhibit halls were the latest LED lighting products that leaned toward current trends in the industry, which included acoustical fixtures, snap-in tracklighting, additive color mixing, mid-century modern inspired finishes, and luminaires that can suit a variety of applications.

The overall program included an inaugural event for 40 Under 40 North America, which celebrated emerging lighting designers; the show's annual Light it Up evening reception, in which showgoers can network and unwind after the first day, that teemed with attendees. and an interactive tour, organized by the Next Generation Lighting Systems program, that showcased "twelve different lighting and control systems at The New School through a collaboration with the School of Constructed Environments, Parsons School of Design," according to a LEDucation press release.

Sponsored by a host of organizations, including Architectural Lighting and sister magazine ARCHITECT as the media sponsors, LEDucation uses show proceeds to host the event as well as to support institutions with lighting education programs, such as the Fashion Institute of Technology, Parsons School of Design, and the New York School of Interior Design, says LEDucation committee co-chairperson Caroline Rinker. Additional funds go to the Nuckolls Fund for Lighting Education, which "is an endowment fund in support of college-level programs that inspire students with an understanding of light in architecture," according to fund's website. This year, the Nuckolls Fund also announced that its 2019 grant recipients will be revealed at next year's LEDucation.

To read more stories like this, visit Architectural Lighting.