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AT&T Performing Arts Center Teams Up with Lightware Labs To Bring the Holidays to Life with Maxell Projectors

Last month, visitors to the campus of the AT&T Performing Arts Center – a Dallas cultural institution – were treated to a socially-distanced, month-long holiday experience thanks to the dazzling projection work of Lightware Labs using Maxell Projectors.

Traditionally, the Center produces Reliant Lights Your Holidays, a free concert, campus-wide lighting, and fireworks event that attracts thousands to its downtown campus in the Dallas Arts District. In response to the pandemic, the Center teamed up with Lightware Labs to reimagine the one-night event into a month-long visual wonderland that ran through December where families could enjoy the campus at their own pace. They experienced the 550,000 LED lights, projections specially created by Lightware Labs using the Maxell Projectors, took holiday photos, and on weekend nights enjoyed pop-up performances by local arts organizations.

The 2020 Reliant Lights Your Holidays featured the work of Lightware Labs founder and projection mapping specialist Camron Ware as he and his team created an outdoor environment designed for celebrating with the whole family. Ware has been a key player in projection mapping for years, founding two companies – Visual Worshiper and Lightware Labs. Ware and his team designed an outdoor experience in keeping with the vision of title sponsor Reliant and entertainment sponsor The David M. Crowley Foundation to create an immersive outdoor holiday experience complete with festive projections, family photo-ops and 550,000 LED lights illuminating the night.

“When we first set off on the project the Center explained how they wanted something really immersive and fun to replace the usual fireworks show,” says Ware. “So, it was fun to work with them to come up with creative ideas on how to immerse our audience into the experience. We ended up adding some fun activities – like a maze made of candy canes – into the sidewalk projections for kids to kind of interact with the surroundings.”

For the installation, Ware used 13 Maxell MP-AW4001 projectors outside in weatherproof enclosures to create the sidewalk projection measuring 100 feet long and 20 feet wide. The ultra short throw projectors were aimed down at the sidewalk and double stacked – with one projector inverted – to double up on the projection to eliminate any shadows created from the other lights at the experience. Ware also used Maxell projectors to turn one of the lawn decorations into a giant present featuring fan favorite holiday animals including polar bears, penguins and reindeer.

“It was great to see the whole experience come together, and I loved getting to help my local community celebrate the holidays,” says Ware. “This has been a difficult year and it meant so much to everyone on the project to be able to provide a fun, immersive and festive space within the community to celebrate.”

The Reliant Lights Your Holidays celebration ran in front of the Winspear Opera House and Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center from December 4, 2020 through January 2, 2021.

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