Call for 2026 IA Awards Lighting Projects Submissions!!!
It is that time of year again! Time to get your project photographs and summary ready for submission. **Installation must be within last 24 months.
SUBMISSION PERIOD:
Early bird submission is December 1, 2025, through January 7, 2026
Cost: IES Members $265 / Non-Members $365
Regular submission, with an increased fee, is January 8-February 12, 2026.
Cost: IES Members $320 / Non-Members $420
* To get IES Member cost, at least one person on the design team must be an IES member and provide their member number during submission. *
** Deadline for both submission periods is 11:59 PM US Eastern. **
WHAT IS NEEDED FOR SUBMISSION:
- Project Summary – 300-word max narrative of the project.
- Impact Statement – Highlight how the project makes a difference in the community where it is located.
- Images – up to 10 (in total) high resolution digital images. Images may not be edited or be taken with fill light.
- Image Narratives – Each image can have an additional 25-word narrative.
- Video Submission (optional) – this cannot include any narrative (written, spoken or music) and must be less than one minute.
** PLEASE READ THE SCORE SHEET FOR THE CATEGORY YOU ARE SUBMITTING. **
- This is a great guide when writing the narrative to make sure each scoring section is addressed. If a scoring section is not addressed in the narrative, the lowest score will be awarded for that category – judges cannot assume how or if it was addressed for the project.
Impact Statement:
During the awards submission process, an Impact Statement will be asked and included in judging of the project. Submitters will be asked to explain “How does this project positively enhance or impact the community it is serving?” in their submission. This additional scored question replaces the discretionary points judges could award to projects. The impact statement should highlight how the project makes a difference in the community where it is located. A few examples are ensuring the lighting for an outdoor project doesn’t negatively impact or shine into an adjacent community, designing with the understanding of local customs and abilities, using an equitable process of community engagement and collaboration, or building community through light. It can also be used to identify how your designed empowered spaces that serve historically under resourced, neglected, and/or marginal communities with quality lighting designs.
MILWAUKEE IES SUBMITTERS!
As an added benefit to our chapter members, Amanda Busalacchi and Kristin Raduenz, your IES Milwaukee Chapter IA Chairpersons, are offering their services for a QC review of your award submissions prior to completing the application. We will look for items that may violate the rules procedures and note scored items that may not be covered in your submissions. We will not be reviewing word counts or massaging your narratives however, if we have suggestions, we will offer them for you to take or leave as you please.
If you wish to take us up on this offer, please email us the following in a PDF format.
- Your 300 word narrative
- Your photos with associated narratives in the order that they will be included in the submission.
- A video, if you are using one. Make sure the narrative for this is included with the photos and indicate that this is to accompany the video.
Please allow 5 business days to turn around comments and plan appropriately!
Illumination Award for Control Innovation, sponsored by Lighting Controls Academy, a NEMA Coalition (LCA)
Advanced lighting control solutions can provide significant energy savings, flexibility, and other benefits in buildings. This prestigious award recognizes good lighting projects that exemplify the effective use of lighting controls in nonresidential applications.
*The LCA will have permission to publish the award recipient and any other entrants on its website as education content,
including photography, giving all appropriate credits, including the IES Illumination Awards Program and the
manufacturer(s).
Illumination Award for Interior Lighting Design, sponsored by Edwin F. Guth
In 1902 Edwin F. Guth founded the St. Louis Brass Company and later renamed it the Edwin F. Guth Company. Mr. Guth’s profound creativity, entrepreneurialism and focus to improve interior lighting are partially represented through 147 patents awarded to him prior to his passing in 1962. This award recognizes exceptional interior lighting projects that balance the functional illumination of space with the artistic application of light to enhance the occupant’s experience.
Illumination Award for Outdoor Lighting Design
The Illumination Award for Outdoor Lighting Design recognizes excellence in lighting design and application in all aspects of exterior lighting. The program celebrates achievements in aesthetics, applied technical acumen, creative solutions to demanding site conditions and advancements to the industry in outdoor lighting applications. The goal of the program is to further the understanding, knowledge and function of outdoor lighting as a critical aspect of the built environment.
Illumination Award for Energy and Environmental Design
The Energy and Environmental Design Award recognizes quality lighting installations in commercial and industrial buildings that incorporate advanced energy-saving strategies and environmentally responsible solutions into the overall design.
Illumination Award for Experiential Lighting Design, sponsored by ETC, Inc.
The Experiential Design Award recognizes those projects that use the design of lighting as art or for effect. This category recognizes themed or immersive environments, whether temporary, permanent, or seasonal.
Applicant Resources
Please contact our IA Co-Chairs, Amanda Busalacchi and Kristin Raduenz with any questions.
Amanda Busalacchi
