**Elevating Thailand's Lighting Design to the World Stage: An Interview with Jeab Dutchanee Ongarjsiri**

The lighting we see at various festivals often carries stories that reflect the area's social context and cultural heritage. These designs are crafted by Creative Lighting Designers aiming to showcase unique aspects of a location to visitors.

In this week's Designer Talk, we speak with Jeab Dutchanee Ongarjsiri, co-founder of ONGA Artful Light Co., Ltd. A seasoned Creative Lighting Designer, she transforms lighting into more than just illumination, integrating lighting technology innovations to meet users' needs.

**Jeab Dutchanee Ongarjsiri's Background and Achievements**

Jeab Dutchanee graduated in Lighting Design, Light Art, Interior & Product Design, both in Thailand and abroad. She is a Thai artist known for her light installations at major global events, such as Vivid Sydney, the world's largest light festival, bringing recognition to Thailand. Her portfolio includes lighting design projects in Thailand and internationally, as well as city lighting installations. She has collaborated with world-renowned artists and co-founded ONGA Artful Light in Thailand, offering creative lighting design services to transform spaces into mesmerizing realms of light and color.

Jeab's passion lies in promoting Thai creative lighting design on the global stage and adding value to various spaces through lighting innovation. Her goal is to gain recognition from Thai governmental bodies, leading to job opportunities where Creative Lighting Designers play a vital role in designing cityscapes at night.

**Career Path in Creative Lighting Design**

Jeab started her career by producing light installations for Light Artists featured in the Amsterdam Light Festival, who were invited to Thailand for the Kingdom of Light event. This opportunity allowed her to exchange experiences and knowledge with world-class Light Artists and showcase her own work, "The Brain," representing the source of creativity and innovations.

**Founding ONGA Artful Light**

Initially, ONGA Artful Light was a company selling lighting equipment wholesale and retail, including designing and installing lighting for sports fields, amusement parks, hotels, factories, and tourist attractions. As the electrical business faced intense price competition, the company shifted its focus to creative lighting to gain a competitive edge. ONGA began offering comprehensive decorative lighting services, including design, production, installation, dismantling, maintenance, and procurement of foreign lighting fixtures. Their work in light installations has been featured at global events like Vivid Sydney, Guangzhou International Light Festival, and Shanghai Lumieres.

The international recognition of ONGA Artful Light has led to opportunities for designing festive lighting in places like Yaowarat Road for the Chinese New Year festival and other projects across Thailand, as well as collaborations with global artists like Soft Lab from New York.

**Design Philosophy and Notable Projects**

ONGA Artful Light's design philosophy focuses on lighting that reflects the identity, society, culture, and history of a place, using innovative lighting technology to suit the environment. The lighting acts as a storytelling medium, adding value to the space while considering sustainability by using energy-efficient materials and renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

One of ONGA's notable projects is the sunflower installation in front of the Sydney Opera House, Australia. Solar panels were used to store solar energy to illuminate the flower petals at night, with robotics and IoT technology controlling the flower's movements towards the sun.

**Services Offered by ONGA Artful Light**

- **Design and installation of lighting systems**: including sports field lighting, façade lighting, and landscape lighting with smart lighting systems.

- **Decorative lighting design and installation**: for interior decorations, festive lighting, city lighting, shopping malls, and tree lighting.

- **Rental of decorative lighting**

- **Production of light sculptures with technology**: such as robotics, AI, and IoT.

- **Installation of star lights on ceilings and under swimming pools using fiber optic lighting systems**

- **Procurement of lighting fixtures from abroad for large projects**

- **All services related to lighting**

**Most Cherished Project and Future Aspirations**

Among ONGA's projects, the recent festive lighting on Yaowarat Road for Chinese New Year, during the COVID-19 period, stands out. ONGA had the freedom to creatively design a unique lighting concept, moving away from traditional red lanterns (tang long). They introduced a narrative of a fairy scattering peonies along the road, symbolizing blessings for wealth and fortune, along with a large dragon tunnel arch at the Odeon Circle. The result was a beautiful nighttime display that brought smiles to passersby, rivalling international standards.

If ONGA Artful Light could choose one project to undertake, it would be to design decorative lighting along the Chao Phraya River, creating a scenic route for tourists to enjoy the illuminated city of Bangkok. Alternatively, they would design lighting for parks or underpass walkways to enhance safety and enjoyment, creating a beautiful and vibrant atmosphere.