$10.00 IESNYC Members  |  $5.00 Students  |  $25.00 Non Members
Attendees will receive a 20% UrbanGlass discount on their neon classes— valid for one year. VALID: 3/25/26 – 3/25/27

Please join IESNYC at Brooklyn’s UrbanGlass for an illuminating evening with two neon artists! 

The program opens with a live demonstration on neon bending with artist Kate Hush.  Kate will show how breath and fire transform clear glass tubes into sculpture;  then she will demonstrate the bombarding process, where different gases combined with phosphors create the vivid colors that give neon its sizzle!

Following the demonstration, Kate will join artist James Akers for a panel discussion exploring neon’s place at the intersection of commerce, sculpture, and lighting design.  Drawing on their varied practices and histories with the medium, the artists will share their insights on applications, creative intent, and the continued relevance of neon today.  The discussion will conclude with Q&A.

Finally, attendees are invited to tour the UrbanGlass studios.  UrbanGlass is New York City’s premier nonprofit glass studio, located in Downtown Brooklyn.  As an open-access studio, they serve over 380 artists, from professionals to beginners learning the craft.  The facility supports glassblowing, flameworking, neon, stained glass, kiln casting, and more!

PRESENTERS

JAMES AKERS  is a Brooklyn-based artist and Co-Founder of Nebula Neon, a neon fabrication studio serving art, retail, film, architectural lighting, and hospitality clients. He received a BFA from Alfred University in 2015.

Working at the intersection of glass, computation, and electricity, Akers’ practice spans neon, sculpture, and networked media. His work has been exhibited in museums, galleries, fairs, and private spaces internationally. In recent projects, he has developed web-server–based sculptures exploring ideas of decentralization and user-driven digital systems.

His artistic interests include themes of celebration and excess, digital surveillance and influence, consumer culture, and subversive experimentation, often employing a visible, process-forward approach to making.

Above Left Photography by HBO. Above Right Photography by James Akers  

KATE HUSH was informally trained and part self-taught at the back of a sign shop in New York City, She has been creating light sculptures in glass and neon for the past decade, contributing to every step of the process from conception to electrification. 

Inspired by the demeanor and imagery of film noir, and the feminine wit of artists like Cindy Sherman, Kate sculpts her female-figure–driven pieces from fire and glass. Her work is a unique feminist-meets-humorist turn amongst a field of masculine minimalism or uber-saccharine text. 

Hush’s work has been featured in galleries and museums around the world, as well as highlighted in various digital and print publications.

Photography by Kate Hush

Moderators

Hamilton Guillén, IES, IALD
Lighting Designer, The Lighting Practice
Hamilton Guillén is a theatrically-trained lighting designer and project manager.  His architectural interests encompass hospitality, public works, and urban art projects.  His creative process relies on the collaborations of diverse teams where curiosity, thoughtful analysis, research, and fieldwork integrate to produce bespoke, immersive environments. 
Prior to joining TLP, Hamilton has worked with The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph), Tiffany & Co., and Leni Schwendinger Light Projects.

Since 2023, he serves on the IESNYC’s Programs Committee and is a curatorial liaison for the annual Moonlighting art exhibition.  He served on the Board of Managers of the IALD’s New York Chapter from 2023-2025.

Recreationally, Hamilton enjoys practicing neon glass art in Brooklyn

Michiru Tanaka, IES, IALD
Principal, Michiru Tanaka Lighting Design
Michiru Tanaka is a lighting designer and consultant with 20 years of global lighting design experience. She established Michiru Tanaka Inc. in 2009 and swiftly forged collaborations with renowned companies such as Toshiba, Disney, Kaneka Corporation, Isometrix, and L’Observatoire International.
Her designs consistently embody the unique sensibility of Japanese lighting known as In’ei Raisan (In Praise of Shadows). Her strength lies in fostering mindful communication between teams and clients.

Michiru served as an Adjunct Professor at the Interior Design Department of the Fashion Institute of Technology and Pratt Institute in New York from 2015 to 2022, before expanding her presence to Southern California.

Please Note: Your attendance at this event constitutes your agreement to allow the IESNYC to use your name/image/voice in Section promotional materials.