News & Notices
Tupac Martir to Give Keynote in Salt Lake City
Tupac Martir
Called a “light magician,” a “creative visionary,” and an artistic genius, Tupac Martir will be the keynote speaker at the 2016 Annual Conference & Stage Expo (USITT 2016) in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Martir's lighting and visual designs have illuminated concerts for Elton John and Sting, London Fashion Week shows for Alexander McQueen and Thomas Tait, and performances at the Coachella Music Festival. He’s gained recent fame for his own groundbreaking productions, which merge many art forms to create captivating multimedia experiences.
Martir will open USITT 2016 March 16 with a keynote that’s sure to be more than just a speech. He’ll stay on to lend his voice to other sessions and discussions.
“Tupac’s work uses every discipline represented by USITT and then some,” said Executive Director David Grindle. “We look forward to the excitement, innovation, and expertise his appearance at will bring to our show.”
A citizen of Mexico and England, Mr. Martir considers himself first and foremost a painter. His art training in Mexico and at Creighton College in Omaha, Nebraska, informs everything he does.
After earning his BFA in fine arts in 2000, he became a production designer for MTV Latinoamerica. He developed his work in lighting, set, video and costume design.
In 2008 he moved to the United Kingdom, and launched Satore Studio which designs for several London Fashion Week shows, including Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood. He designed lighting and projections for the late Alexander McQueen’s last and most-remembered show, the edgy Plato’s Atlantis show in spring of 2010.
Martir has evolved into a multimedia artist whose work spans fields from lighting/projection/video to sound design/music/composition to choreography and costumes -- and whose tools range from puppetry and stop-motion animation to digital lighting and media servers to Mogees, a new music-making software that’s not yet on the market.
His acclaimed dance opera, Nierka, incorporated video and projection with dance, music, and lighting, including costumes embedded with LEDs controlled wirelessly as part of the performance, and the firsst show ever to use CAST Softwave's BlackTrax.
USITT 2016 brings Martir to North America to share his artistic vision with the performing arts and live entertainment design and technology industry. His appearance will kick off more than 200 sessions including design and tech workshops, awards, competitions, and demonstrations of the best in theatre technology.
Registration and housing for USITT 2016 open this month. Check www.usittshow.org for updates.
