Yael Erel, assistant professor in the School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and her partner, Avner Ben-Natan, won second place in the 2022 [d]arc awards in the “Art - Low Budget” category, for their project Reflecting On Troy featured in the Troy Glow light festival.

The [d]arc awards is a unique concept utilizing arc and darc magazines’ reputation as being the most widely read and respected lighting design publications in the world. The awards are the only truly peer-to-peer lighting design awards in the world.

Reflecting on Troy is an analog animation in reflective light that is projected onto the back facade of the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, one of Troy New York’s most beloved historic buildings. The reflected animation is created by shining a high-powered, directional light onto two rotating reflective disks. The disk’s surface is etched with Troy-inspired geometries that create spatial light drawings as they reflect light onto the textures of the urban landscape.

The project was one of six artist projects selected, commissioned, produced, and funded by the Arts Center of the Capital Region through the inaugural Troy Glow light festival.