World Stage Design Opens Application for 2025 Sharjah Edition
World Stage Design (WSD) 2025 Sharjah which will take place from 18 to 25th October 2025, is accepting exhibition entries from professional and emerging designers in live performance from around the world. The last date for submission is 14th November 2024.
The exhibition features three categories: Performance Design, Space and Object Design and Set, Sound, Costume, Lighting, Video Design. Professionals and emerging talent in scenography, puppetry, décor, architecture, and other theatre and live events technicians are encouraged to apply.
Conducted quadrennially, WSD is the only exhibition globally to showcase performance designs from individual designers. After successful shows in Toronto, Seoul, Cardiff, Taipei, and Calgary, the sixth edition of the event – WSD25 Sharjah, UAE, is its first time in an Arab country. The event is co-produced by the Sharjah Performing Arts Academy (SPAA) and the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT).
“It is remarkable that we are hosting a global event focused on live events and performance design in Sharjah, UAE. WSD25 Sharjah has sustainability as a core ethos. The event offers a unique opportunity for professionals and enthusiasts of live events in the region to engage with work from around the world. Exhibiting international designers, artists and visitors can experience the local performing arts culture and interact and collaborate with their Middle Eastern counterparts,” said Jacqui George, Project Director, WSD25.
Applications will be reviewed by respective juries in the professional and emerging categories. All categories will look for evidence of ecological and sustainable design methods and approaches as a central theme. The cost per submission is AED 100. Grants for subsidized entry fees are available for applications from Arab-speaking countries.
“I am eagerly anticipating the submission of exciting entries from the region and internationally.” concluded Jacqui.
WSD2025 includes Scenofest, a celebration of scenography with a wide range of seminars, workshops, performances, and presentations by leading theatre practitioners and artists. The Theatre Architecture Competition (TAC) and Technical Invention Prize (TIP) will also run alongside the event.
The World Stage Design (WSD) 2025 is co-produced by the Sharjah Performing Arts Academy (SPAA), the Middle East’s only dedicated performing arts institution offering comprehensive training across performing and production arts, and OISTAT (International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians), a global network founded in 1968 that celebrates design, technology, and architecture in live performances.
To submit an entry for the WSD 2025 Sharjah exhibition: https://www.sharjahwsd2025.com/exhibitions
To apply for subsidized entry fees for applications from Arab-speaking countries: https://worldstagedesign.awardsplatform.com
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