Es Devlin, one of the most influential designers of our time, has lent her creative prowess to a wide and diverse range of projects. She is well-known for her arresting stage sets for plays and operas in theaters such as La Scala, the Met Opera, and the Royal Opera House, and for dance performances, fashion shows, and colossal concerts by, among others, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Adele, U2, and The Weeknd. Devlin has also spearheaded the creation of immersive, large-scale installations––for museums, festivals and institutions from Expo 2020 to the United Nations––that not only offer memorable collective experiences but also ignite meaningful dialogues on pressing global issues, including climate change and human rights.

During this conversation, Paola Antonelli and Es Devlin discuss the impulse to connect, communicate, and share that animates Devlin’s work. All her experiments are infused by the desire, in her own words, to “view the audience as a temporary society and encourage profound cognitive shifts by inviting public participation in communal choral works.”

This event took place on November 14, 2023