LEADERSHIP TEAM
AL CRAWFORD
Light Artist | Founder
Al is a NYC based lighting artist working globally.
He recently served as the General Manager of City Theatrical, Inc the world’s prominent manufacturer of bespoke lighting products and accessories.
Al was the Lighting Director of the world renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 25 years. While with the Company he produced the lighting for Ailey in virtually every major theater, performing arts center and opera house on the planet having toured to 48 states and over 60 countries including historically significant performances in Russia, China and South Africa.
Al has had the opportunity to work directly with many important choreographers in the dance world including Judith Jamison, Robert Battle, Garth Fagan, Matthew Rushing, Ron Brown, George Faison, Mark Dendy, Trey McIntyre, Christopher Huggins, Hope Boykin, Osnel Delgado, Jeanguy Saintus and many others. He has designed 18 new works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and 12 for Ailey II. Additionally, he has been responsible for maintaining the lighting for the significant Ailey repertory designed by many of the top lighting designers in the industry.
A huge believer in cross genre design, Al founded Arc3design, a lighting design group dedicated to merging his theatrical aesthetic into all areas of art, architecture, dance, live music, theater, broadcast, and live event production. Arc3design employees a team of talented designers and technical artists that support the creation and implementation of new projects worldwide.
Arc3design creates the lighting for over 100 projects annually. Recent and current projects include:
Architectural installations at New York Central Synagogue, Barbizon Lighting World Headquarters, World Trade Center NYC, New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Madison Avenue Baptist Church.
Theatrical Consultation for Madison Square Garden, World Trade Center Oculus Transit Center, World Trade Center 1 (Freedom Tower), Capital One Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Glasshouses, Javitz Center Ballrooms, and SummerStage Central Park NYC.
Dance design for BAM’s Dance Africa, Haiti’s Ayikodans, Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company, Trinity Irish Dance Company, Limon Dance Company and HopeBoykinDance.
Social political projects for The White House (7 Presidential State Dinners), Inauguration Events, Holiday Events and Broadcasts.
Sports Entertainment including 6 seasons as Lighting Directors for Madison Square Garden Arena Sports Entertainment (NY Knicks, NY Rangers, NY Liberty).
Life Event design (Weddings, Birthdays, Memorials, Celebrations) for many of the top designers and producers in the industry including David Monn, Brian Rafanelli, Bronson Van Wyck and David Stark. Projects span the globe from NYC to West Palm Beach to Mumbai.
Brand Events for Spotify, Google, Samsung, Intel, Dom Perignon, Lexus and Lamborghini.
National corporate conferences for ACLU, IAAPA, Market America and Target.
Cruise Ship Entertainment design for Holland America, Celebrity, Azamara and MSC Lines.
Themed Entertainment design for Sea World, Holiday World, Carowinds, Tivoli Gardens, Universal Studios Florida, Hershey Park, Cedar Point and Pip’s Island.
Al has served on the Board of Directors of the Gilbert Hemsley Lighting Programs and the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Al currently serves on the advisory board of the Studio School of Design. He has had the opportunity to speak to students at universities around the country, at the United States Institute for Theater Technology Conference (USITT), Live Design International (LDI), the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas and was a keynote speaker at the Electronic Theater Controls CUE conference in Madison, WI.
Al has been awarded the Knight of Illumination Award, considered globally to be one of the top achievements in Lighting Design. He has been named one of the Global Top 1000 event professionals by BizBash Magazine.
Al is a member of United Scenic Artists (USA-829) and the International Alliance for Theatrical Stage Employees (Local 635). He is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.