News & Notices
Wingspace Studio to Design PQ Exhibit
The initial design submission from Wingspace Theatrical Design helped the curators to choose the collective to design the USITT/USA exhibit for the 2015 Prague Quadrennial.
Wingspace Theatrical Design, a collective of 22 artists with a studio in Brooklyn’s Old American Can Factory, won USITT’s national competition to design the United States exhibit for the 2015 Praque Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space in Prague, Czech Republic.
The PQ, the world’s largest performance design event, draws over 25,000 visitors to Prague every four years. USITT oversees the design, construction, and funding of the U.S. national exhibit, a process that began right after PQ’11.
Wingspace was chosen from 11 groups that submitted designs to the first U.S. National PQ Exhibit Space Design Competition in December 2012, said theatrical designer Markéta Fantová, Chair of USITT’s International Activities Committee and Artistic Director for USITT-USA PQ 2015.
For previous PQ exhibits, the committee sought design teams on its own. This time, it held a juried competition to include more participation and input from members. The theme was “Art in Performance Design: Dreams of Here and Now.” Submissions were required to reflect the dynamic and diverse landscape of American performance and celebrate performance design as art.
The 11 entries were displayed in Milwaukee at USITT's 2013 Annual Conference & Stage Expo in March, inviting comments from 5,000-plus conference-goers. Based on those comments, the jury narrowed the selection to six for a review/ interview process.
The four-member team of jurors - who will also serve as curators for the actual exhibit - includes Ms. Fantová, and internationally-acclaimed designers Tony Walton, Carrie Robbins, and Kevin Rigdon. They chose Wingspace, whose submission recalled a modernistic performance arena space, and will work with the group on a final design which will display exhibits and productions representing the best of recent American performance design. The theme of PQ 2015, Sharedspace: Music, Weather, Politics, will be incorporated into the 2015 USITT/USA concepts
“The idea of an ‘ephemeral studio’ of artists with backgrounds in scenic, lighting, costume, sound, and media design, as well as directors, writers, and thinkers, is an exciting and fresh approach,” Ms. Fantová said about Wingspace. “We look forward to seeing how this model contributes to the development of the National Exhibit.”
Wingspace project leaders for the USITT-USA exhibit are scenic designers Caite Hevner and Lee Savage, and actor-director Dylan McCullough. They will work closely with the curators to take the design from concept to reality.
The designers and curators will perfect the plan for the exhibit by May 2014, and it will then be constructed by a team from Indiana University’s Department of Theatre and Drama, led by Technical Director Paul Brunner. The curatorial team will select a representation of American performance design and technology for the exhibit, which will be shipped to Prague in March 2015 for the June event.
USITT’s International Activities Committee also oversees the U.S. Student Design and Architectural Exhibits to PQ. Look for more information on these projects in upcoming Sightlines.
