ABU DHABI: MA Lighting International’s grandMA3 lighting control platform played a central role in the opening celebrations of the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi, where an extensive networked control system was used to realise an ambitious lighting design for one of the UAE’s most significant cultural events.

Designed by Foster + Partners and named in honour of the UAE’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed, the Zayed National Museum officially opened during a landmark celebration that coincided with the country’s National Day and featured the inaugural public performance of the newly formed UAE National Orchestra. The ceremony transformed the museum’s striking architecture into the centrepiece of a large-scale multimedia production incorporating lighting, projection and live performance.

Lighting Designer Bruno Poet was tasked with illuminating the museum’s distinctive façade while integrating lighting with projection content created by Moment Factory and supporting performances taking place across the venue.

“This extraordinary museum was effectively our set,” explained Poet. “Within it, we were to visually enhance the drama of the music and the storytelling of the show, as well as celebrate the building in its own right.”

The production’s lighting system was programmed using a networked grandMA3 control platform by programmers Max Narula and Aria Hailey. The setup comprised two grandMA3 full-size consoles for programming and two grandMA3 light consoles for show operation, enabling multiple programmers to work simultaneously within the same session.

“grandMA3 is really suited to this kind of ceremony, this large special event, where you need to allow multiple programmers to work simultaneously in one session on an extremely large lighting rig,” said Narula. “One of the great things about how grandMA3 works is that you don’t have to separate things out. You can have different things going on at different times, depending on each other’s workflows.”

Narula also highlighted the platform’s My Virtual Rig (MVR) import capability and Selection Grid tools, which streamlined the programming of the extensive lighting system by importing three-dimensional fixture data directly from the production’s CAD model. He noted that these features significantly reduced programming time when working with complex fixture layouts.

The production also incorporated a substantial quantity of LED tape integrated into the museum’s architectural structure, requiring the lighting control system to process a large number of pixels. According to the programming team, grandMA3’s pixel handling capabilities proved particularly valuable after the LED tape installation was completed later than planned, leaving limited time for programming before the event.

Reflecting on the project, Poet also praised the evolution of the grandMA3 software from a designer’s perspective. “It feels like it’s moving towards a more designer-focused workflow, more helpful for designers like me, who aren’t programmers and who haven’t come from a programming background,” he said.

The event showcased grandMA3’s ability to support complex, multi-operator workflows on large-scale architectural and ceremonial productions, where lighting, projection and live performance are required to operate as a single, synchronised visual experience.