Dutch lighting designer Henk van der Geest has passed away after a serious illness.

We mourn the loss of a good friend, active partner and friend of the DTHG and the Oistat.

Henk van der Geest was a lighting designer and worked in the fields of theatre and architecture, including exhibitions, museums and public spaces.

He worked for private theatre groups and many ensembles; lighting for dance, theatre, opera and music productions. He has directed exhibitions at the Rijksmuseum, vanGogh Museum, Zuiderzeemuseum, Teylers Museum, Fries Museum and many more. Recently, he has advised museums such as the van Gogh Museum on their transition to high quality LED lighting.

His references include architectural and cultural projects in a wide range of embassies, palaces, private homes and public parks. And from the small black box theater to the grand opera.

He designed the interior lighting in the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, worked on the modernisation of the lighting in the Ridderzaal – the government auditorium in The Hague – and in the new building of the world-famous architecture department of the University in Delft.

For the city of Amsterdam he designed a vision for the night lighting of the theatre quarter „the Leidseplein“ and realized a new lighting in the renovated Olympic stadium quarter in Amsterdam. For the municipal hospital in Alkmaar, he worked in a team to integrate wellness lighting in polyclinic centres. Together with his Dutch partner association VPT, he researched energy-saving equipment for the theatre.

Henk van der Geest founded the instituut lichtontwerpen in order to create a place where lighting designers can both research and advise on their projects. As a tutor he travels around the world to give lectures and workshops for a variety of participants, most recently in Hong Kong and Taipei.