Es Devlin

Es Devlin CBE is a British artist and stage designer whose work operates at the intersection of sculpture, technology, language, and light. She works in a range of media, often mapping light and projecting film onto kinetic sculptural forms. Her practice encompasses public sculptures and installations at Tate Modern, Trafalgar Square, and Lincoln Centre, as well as kinetic stage designs at the Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera, and the National Theatre. Devlin has also contributed to Olympic ceremonies, Super Bowl halftime shows, and large-scale stadium concerts with monumental illuminated stage sculptures.

Devlin's career began in narrative theatre and experimental opera, with early work at London's Bush Theatre. She made her National Theatre debut when Trevor Nunn invited her to design the set for Harold Pinter's "Betrayal." She entered concert design through a collaboration with the band Wire and later worked with Kanye West on his "Touch the Sky" tour, continuing with "Glow in the Dark," "Watch the Throne," and "Yeezus" tours. Her concert stage designs include U2's "Innocence + Experience" and Beyoncé's "Formation World Tour." On the world stage, Devlin designed scenic elements for the closing ceremony of the London Olympics and the set design for the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics.

Devlin's theatre work has earned her multiple industry honors. She won two Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Set Design for "Chimerica" and "The Nether." On Broadway, she received the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play for "The Lehman Trilogy," directed by Sam Mendes. Her television work includes the Super Bowl Halftime Show featuring Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem, which earned her three Emmy Awards, including one for Best Production Design. Her scenic design for Adele's performance at Griffith Observatory won five additional Emmy Awards. Devlin also designed the UK Pavilion at the World Expo in Dubai, becoming the first woman to receive such a commission since the inception of world expositions.

Beyond the stage, Devlin is recognized for her contributions to public art and intellectual discourse. She delivered a talk at the TED Conference in Vancouver titled "Mind-blowing sculptures that fuse art & technology." Her installation "CONGREGATION," first exhibited at St Mary le Strand in London, features monumental chalk and charcoal portraits of displaced Londoners, co-authored with individuals who have experienced forced migration. The work later appeared at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York, extending her vision of collective humanity to international audiences.

Devlin is the subject of the monographic book "An Atlas of Es Devlin" and a retrospective exhibition at Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, as well as a major solo exhibition at Casa Bradesco in São Paulo. Her practice was also featured in the Netflix documentary series "Abstract: The Art of Design." A fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Society of Arts, Devlin serves as visiting professor of contemporary theatre and Bloomberg Fellow at the University of Oxford. Her accolades include the Eugene McDermott Award for the Arts at MIT, the Critics Circle Award for Contribution to the Arts, the Frame Lifetime Achievement Award, the Wall Street Journal Innovator Award, the London Design Medal, three Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, an Ivor Novello Award, and a CBE.