A First Look at the Short List: Light Middle East Awards Finalists

ArtPlay from Artistic Licence, presented by Eloise Reed

As the doors open on Light Middle East, one of the most anticipated moments of the week kicked off the show. Short List finalists of the Light Middle East Awards took to the Specifiers Arena for a fast-paced, high-energy pitching session that puts innovation front and center.

This is not a passive awards program. Each shortlisted manufacturer is given ten minutes—no more—to present directly to a panel of 16 judges, all practicing lighting designers. The format is demanding by design: practical, intense, and refreshingly transparent. By the end of the session, the judges have experienced every product live, heard the rationale behind it, and questioned the teams on performance, application, and originality. Winners will be revealed Wednesday night during a star-studded celebration at the world-famous Conrad.

Now in their 12th edition, once again, the Light Middle East Awards return on 14 January 2026 at the Conrad Hotel, Dubai. Widely regarded as the region’s most coveted lighting design and technology awards, they recognize excellence that is shaping the future of light in the Middle East and beyond.

From visionary projects to ground-breaking products, the awards celebrate creativity, sustainability, and innovation—honoring work that is redefining what lighting can achieve on a global stage.

Opening the Arena

To begin, the session opened with remarks from Sharon Stammers and Martin Lupton, co-founders of Light Collective UK. Their introduction set the tone: This was about usefulness, real-world value, and how these products respond to the changing demands placed on lighting—technically, environmentally, and experientially.

What followed was a rapid tour through the breadth of today’s lighting innovation, grouped across four categories.

Fluxwerx LMPG
Yaloui presents Viewmax, from Fluxwerx Illumination

Indoor Lighting–short list Light Middle East

In this category, the indoor offerings reflected the continued evolution of precision optics, flexibility, and visual comfort.

LUMENCORE Recessed Opticolor+ by Lumenpulse, presented by Yacine Yaloui, demonstrated advanced color-changing capabilities in a recessed format without sacrificing performance.

Sipario from iGuzzini explored theatrical control and spatial storytelling, reinforcing iGuzzini’s strength in expressive architectural tools.

Zhiwer WW by Fenos BVBA, presented by founder Kaveh Ahmadian, focused on warm-white quality and human-centric considerations.

Aperture and Viewmax, both from Fluxwerx Illumination, offered two distinct approaches to controlled beam distribution and ceiling integration, again presented by Yaloui.

Outdoor Lighting–short list Light Middle East

Outdoor finalists addressed durability, urban integration, and nighttime identity.

  • Ribeira from iGuzzini brought a refined architectural language to exterior spaces.

  • LSC180 Smart Pole by WE-EF Leuchten, presented by Tobias Maier, combined infrastructure, intelligence, and lighting into a single urban element.

  • Tesis from Erco Lighting, presented by Taha Alhindi, showed how optical discipline continues to define ERCO’s outdoor philosophy.

  • Lumenfacade Max Opticolor+ by Lumenpulse extended dynamic color into large-scale façade applications.

  • Jupiter Bollard from MASQ, presented by Jinane Abi Kalil, balanced sculptural form with functional performance.

Decorative Lighting–short list Light Middle East

Decorative lighting proved to be one of the most visually engaging categories, blending craft, movement, and materiality.

  • Gravita by Linea Light, presented by Elisa Montanaro, emphasized simplicity and gravity-defying form.

  • Cartouche from Pencilight, presented by founder Mo Mabrouk, leaned into bespoke expression.

  • Clan Mini from iGuzzini demonstrated how decorative does not have to mean superficial.

  • BloomAire Kinetic Chandelier by Lumoconcept, presented by Diana Alchhabi, introduced motion and transformation as core design elements.

  • Heritage Glow Portable Marmar Lamp from Style Team Industry, presented by Rasha Alkordy.

Andrew Bunker demonstrates the RCL by Luminii for the shortlist light middle east awards
Andrew Bunker demonstrates the RCL by Luminii

Intelligent Lighting–short list Light Middle East

The intelligent category showed how data and control are changing the role of luminaires.

  • Lifetime Indicator by Tridonic, presented by Philipp Heindl, focused on transparency and maintenance.

  • ArtPlay from Artistic Licence, presented by Eloise Reed, explored creative control for media and dynamic environments.

  • EverGlo by Microfios Technologies, presented by CEO Arun Arya, addressed long-term reliability through embedded intelligence.

  • RCL by Luminii: Nova from Luminii, presented by Andrew Bunker, showed how modular systems continue to evolve.

  • DigiDot Powernode by DigiDot Technologies, presented by founder Stefan Verhoef, showed distributed power and  control.

A Snapshot of the Industry

Beyond individual products, the Specifiers Arena offered something more valuable: a clear snapshot of where the lighting industry is heading. Notably, across categories, common themes emerged—greater integration of intelligence, tighter optical control, attention to sustainability, and products designed for designers, not just specifications.

Meanwhile, the judges now deliberate. The winners will be announced Wednesday night. But even before the trophies are handed out, the message from day one at Light Middle East is already clear: innovation in lighting is no longer incremental. It is practical, purposeful, and very much on display.

Read more: Innovative Lighting Products Shortlisted at Light Middle East

Light + Intelligent Building Middle East 2026 Returns to Dubai with 450+ Exhibitors

NEWS