The Society of British Theatre Designers

National Exhibition 2011:

THE ROYAL WELSH COLLEGE OF MUSIC & DRAMA IN CARDIFF

Venue for the Society of British Theatre Designers’ National Exhibition:

TRANSFORMATION & REVELATION (working title) – UK Design for Performance 2007 – 2011

Working with architects, Hamiltons and construction company, Wilmot Dixon, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) is developing a 22.4 million pound building to truly represent its status as National Conservatoire. This major new architectural addition to the city provides a suite of venues to compliment the growing status of Cardiff as a major contributor to the culture of Wales, the UK, Europe and beyond.

This unique building will provide Cardiff with a centre for performing and visual arts, developing into a significant centre for international arts festivals and exhibitions.

In March 2011, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama will host Transformation & Revelation, the Society of British Theatre Designers’ (SBTD) professional UK National Exhibition of Design for Performance which will inaugurate the new building as a major arts venue.

Cardiff has grown significantly as a city over the last decade both physically and culturally. The city centre and docklands now are full of landmark architectural developments. The Wales Millennium Centre provides a new opera house, home for Welsh National Opera and dance theatre for the National Dance Company of Wales.. Chapter Arts Centre and Cardiff’s major building based theatre company, (Sherman Cymru) are undergoing exciting building redevelopments.

It is our goal to create in Transformation & Revelation, not only an exhibition representative of the work of professional designers and artists working in theatre, but also to create a centre of activity, diversity, widening participation and multicultural exchange. It is of paramount importance to make this event relevant to the exhibitors, allowing them to reflect on their individual practice in the context of global developments, by meeting and sharing their work, their process and philosophy. It is an exhibition which will be appreciated by theatre professionals, lecturers and students from the Art, Design and Drama sectors throughout the UK. It will also allow teachers, pupils and the general public to experience and form a greater understanding of the work of those who create the performance environment, through a programme of workshops and interactive design exhibits.

The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama’s location in the Castle Grounds in the centre of the city is ideal, being just walking distance from the shopping centers, National Museum and Art Gallery, all major Hotels and the national railway station. With facilities onsite to host most of the Transformation & Revelation exhibition requirements, it will be truly focused environment. A dynamic programme of workshops, performances and presentations, will be developed in collaboration with Cardiff’s theatre community, alongside the exhibition, created for theatre professionals, students and the general public.

Gallery of concept images of the new RWCMD Build

~ Sean Crowley

Sean studied theatre design at Wimbledon School of Art, graduating in 1985, over the past 25 years he has designed over 160 productions for companies across UK and Europe. In 1993, he left London and returned to Wales to live in Swansea with his wife and four children. He became Head of Design at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 1999 and in 2008 became Director of Drama.

He was Chair of the ACTD for 9 years, is a member of the Linbury Prize committee, and as Vice Chair of the OISTAT Education Commission, was project leader for the PQ Scenofest 2007. After the National exhibition in 2011, he will begin work as project leader for World Stage Design 2013 which will also be held in Cardiff.

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