I have exhibited my set design work for Glimpsing Air Pockets at the 5th World Stage Design in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a unique event showcasing the best of international performance design. This took place at the University of Calgary showcasing all 128 shortlisted designers and is the first and only designer-based exhibition to showcase and celebrate performance design from individual designers.
‘Glimpsing Air Pockets’ was conceived following dancer Christina Liddell’s outreach work with the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity. She aspired to help children’s rehabilitation and healing by providing creative movement and dance. She invited several artists to capture children’s contributions during creative workshops at the Edinburgh Royal Sick Kids hospital and combine them within the set, music composition, projection mapping, film and sensory equipment to make the show. The set was accessible to wheelchair users with wide spaces between the trees, around the path and a sturdy bridge following disabled ramps access
regulations.
I won 1st place in the professional category ‘Alternative Design’ for my ecoscenographic set design. This is an immense honour for the work my team and I created for Scottish Glimpsing Air Pockets. I am the only British designer on the awarded list to receive a professional award this year. My colleague from Ecostage received a special mention for ‘Ecoscenography’. More on the news page entry.
The award letter from the WSD22 organising committee congratulates:
“Dear Mona Kastell,
Congratulations on your achievements in performance design! The World Stage Design 2022 Organising Committee is pleased to present you tied 1st place in Professional Alternative Design for Glimpsing Air Pockets. Your work was selected for the shortlist exhibition through a double-blind peer review by international jury. This was a shortlist of 128 designers of 158 designs, from 35 different countries. Your work was chosen for the shortlist exhibition from over 800 entries. The award is a further honour bestowed on your work by the awards jury on August 12, 2022, Calgary, Canada.”
I share this with my team
Concept & Dance: Christina Liddell
Ecoscenographer: Mona Kastell
Sensory pads/projections: DLSV
Music: Greg Sinclair
Video: Tao-Anas Le Thanh
Designer assistant: Hannah Myers
-funded by The Robertson Trust
Photography: Mona Kastell unless otherwise specified
Funders without who this trip wouldn’t have been possible
Creative Scotland, Federation of Scottish Theatres, The Eaton Fund & The Envelope Room
