No abstract

In his influential book historian Geoffrey Blainey coined the term The Tyranny of Distance (1982) as a descriptor that continues to influence the Australian psyche. For the first time in 2019, the three leading performing arts schools in Australia approached the design for the Australian student exhibition at the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (PQ) as a collaborative project. The theme of isolation and its influence on current Australian politics shaped not only the conception and development, but also the curation and realisation of the exhibition. The student exhibition presented the opportunity to explore the creation of a site-specific installation rather than a folio-based work, but required the navigation of distance in conception and realisation as installation of the various elements could only occur once on site in Prague. Distance also needed to be negotiated between cohorts, timelines and requirements of the programs at the different institutions. The tyranny of delayed international shipping was overcome, as with all other obstacles, by the application of a distinctly Australian sense of humour in the formation of a temporary installation -ShippingWrecked -to hold our place until the full exhibition arrived. PQ presents the opportunity to overcome our physical isolation but also test the benefits that isolation extends to our artistic practice.

As the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space 2019 (PQ19) drew to a close, Australian designers, researchers and educators gathered to discuss the impact of PQ on our scenographic communities while querying the evolutions and challenges facing design practice. Australia’s vast geography made this event a unique opportunity to bring together leading experts from multiple states and capture contemporary perspectives. At the midpoint between the 2019 and 2023 gatherings – a time of global pandemics, political unrest and educational transformation – this article offers the outcomes of this roundtable as a unique snapshot of the state of design practice within Australia through the lens of the Quadrennial. The roundtable was themed around Australia’s presence at PQ19, the effects of PQ19 on those present and the ripples to be felt by those at home, and what attendance illuminated about current developments and concerns in practice, teaching and research. Led by practitioner-researchers Tessa Rixon and Madeline Taylor, the roundtable featured both the curators of Australia’s country and student exhibits; award-winning set, costume and lighting designers with diverse experiences from national opera to independent theatre; and educators and researchers from the nation’s top universities. The resulting discussion presents a unique perspective on the gaps and weaknesses in the design education, practice and research; first-hand insights on the challenges and opportunities available in both exhibiting and participating in the PQ; and the need to actively promote and privilege diverse voices and a multiplicity of representations in the process of claiming a ‘national’ scenographic identity. The roundtable was the first to capture multiple expert first-person Australian perspectives on the PQ while simultaneously contributing to the ongoing international discussion of performance design through the lens of artists, educators and researchers.