The quest to create an exhibit representing the United States at the 2015 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space is a long process that starts now – with a new competition to design the exhibit space.
The United States Institute for Theatre Technology is seeking design submissions from individuals and teams for an architectural and sculptural space with the theme, Art in Performance Design: Dreams of Here and Now.
The winning design will house the USA National Exhibit at the 2015 PQ, the world’s largest design event. It has been held every four years in Prague, Czech Republic, since 1967. This is the first time USITT has held a design competition for the national exhibit in its four decades of representing the USA at PQ.
USITT has recruited an all-star team of theatrical designers – Tony Walton, Kevin Rigdon and Carrie Robbins – to adjudicate the competition and serve as curators for the exhibit’s content, said the project’s Artistic Director, Markéta Fantová, an acclaimed Czech designer and USITT’s Vice President for International Activities.
The winning exhibit space should be not just a gallery, but a work of art in itself, Fantová and Rigdon wrote. “It should reflect the dynamic and diverse landscape of American performance, and celebrate performance design as an art.” The space will be used to exhibit a curated show of scenic, lighting, costume and performance designs presented in a multi-media format that creates an interactive experience for the spectator.
Exhibit design submissions must follow competition guidelines and specifications including a footprint of approximately 30 by 36 feet, a materials budget of $25,000, and the ability to tour to other venues. Submission deadline is February 8, 2013, and finalists will be notified by February 22. Finalists will have their concepts displayed at USITT’s 2013 Annual Conference & Stage Expo, March 20-23, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The winner will be announced in the spring of 2013.
Submissions may be made at usitt.org/pq15, where complete guidelines for the exhibit space design can be found.
The winner of the 2015 competition will work closely with Fantová and her team of curators to take the design from concept to reality. The curators will choose the exhibit’s content in summer 2014, and the entire exhibit will be constructed and shipped to Prague by the spring of 2015. The 13th edition of the PQ will be held in June 2015.
USITT, the professional association for the performing arts and entertainment design and technology industry, has organized and underwritten America’s participation in the PQ since 1975. Besides the USA National stage design exhibit, USITT also oversees US exhibits to the PQ in Architecture and Student design. It also holds the theatre design and technology industry’s signature conference and trade show, the USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo, to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin next March.
For more information about the PQ, visit www.pq.cz. For more on USITT, visit www.usitt.org.