NEET - the National Exhibition of Entertainment Technology - first materialized in 1999, founded by Jason Williams. After serving as the secretary for the Projected Picture Trust, which deals with protecting the heritage of the cinema industry, Williams realized that there was very little effort being made to protect the heritage of other entertainment technologies. Hence NEET, created with a simple set of objectives: to locate, preserve, and exhibit early examples of entertainment technology, providing a valuable educational and historical resource, and preserving the industry's heritage.
Considering the vast scale of the industry, and the variety of equipment in use over the years, the choice of which equipment to preserve had to be carefully made. As the majority of the collection consisted of lighting desks, Williams decided to narrow down his collective criteria to lighting control initially: NEET now includes a large collection of lighting desks and consoles which includes classic examples from many different manufacturers.
Since 1999, many major lighting companies and industry professionals have shown interest in the NEET project and have offered equipment and support. NEET is currently in the process of registering with the charities commission in order to begin fundraising, with the aim of moving the collection into a permanent exhibition space.
The exhibition will showcase the desks in fully operational order, and provide visitors with the chance to interact with the equipment and control a variety of luminaires. They will have the opportunity to learn how the various control technologies have influenced present day technology. Williams plans to eventually expand the collection to encompass luminaires and artifacts from other areas of the industry, including audio gear, audio-visual equipment, rigging equipment, and articles of film and cinema technology.
It's an interesting and worthwhile project, its scope limited only by resources. So more help is always needed, and Williams would be pleased to hear from anyone with material, suggestions or other assistance which might help towards his goal.
