Cover Photo – Rhapsody X inside the UK’s Student Exposition at PQ’99

From student practice in Birmingham to curating SBTD’s design | stage in Coventry, a story of continuity, collaboration, and creative return by Dana Pinto.

While living in Birmingham between 1998 and 2000 studying for my Master’s degree, I was aware of Coventry and occasionally made day trips to Stratford-upon-Avon, as theatre students inevitably do, but beyond that, I rarely ventured further than Edgbaston.

During my MA studies, I organised and directed a performance art work for Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) based on Homer’s The Odyssey, Rhapsody X: Encountering Circe, which was presented at the Prague Quadrennial 1999 as part of the Student Showcase. That year, the UK received the Best Student Exposition award under the guidance of my lecturer at the time, David Cockayne.

Twenty-six years later, I return to the West Midlands as Curator for design | stage, The Society of British Theatre Designers’ four-yearly national exhibition, and it feels particularly meaningful to see these worlds align, returning to the region where I studied, where my professional journey in theatre design was shaped, and now bringing a landmark exhibition to Coventry while creating new opportunities for dialogue between Coventry University, the creative industry, heritage, and the next generation of Designers.

Coventry has always been about reinvention, from its industrial and manufacturing heritage to its contemporary identity as a centre for creativity and digital innovation. When you step into the city, you can feel that it is undergoing an arts and cultural shift. There is a powerful shift happening, and it is only fitting for The Society of British Theatre Designers’ to bring its landmark exhibition design | stage to be part of this movement in the heart of the country.

We are in partnership with Coventry University to bring this exhibition design | stage to the region, an exhibition that will come alive, showcasing design as not static, but one that moves and evolves with collaborative visual storytelling. This is what makes Coventry an inspiring setting; it is not just about the final design but about the creative journey, creative collaboration, conversations, experimentation, a range of processes, and being forward-thinking to shape and then reshape design. The partnership with Coventry University strengthens this vision, which originated with the Coventry School of Design in 1843.

What makes our partnership meaningful is that it extends beyond the campus, and students will be collaborating on real-time projects to create design | stage. Working alongside SBTD Members in scenic design, costume, lighting, sound design, projection, film, immersive media, and the exhibition’s physical layout, students and professionals will learn from each other. A project rooted in exchange and shared practice.

We will also celebrate 50 Years of SBTD, with The Belgrade Theatre opening its doors as part of the celebration. Across both sites, iconic theatre designs will come to Coventry, making this city much more than a location for SBTD’s design | stage, it is a cultural and creative ecosystem where the arts, education, research, industry, and public engagement come together.

So, twenty-six years later for me and fifty years later for SBTD, we come to celebrate in the West Midlands, ready to make a mark, ready to be part of the city’s creative shift, and ready to contribute to a new chapter in the region’s cultural story shaped through co-creation as we celebrate the past, present, and future of performance design.

Dana Pinto
Curator, design | stage