Devlin’s latest work features her drawings of endangered species / PHOTO: DANIEL DEVLIN
Artist and stage designer Es Devlin was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to design in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in October. She was awarded an OBE in 2015.
Devlin is known for her large scale public art installations, often inspired by nature, which include the Forest for Change – when she filled the courtyard of London’s Somerset House with trees – and indoor forest Conference of the Trees, created for the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, UK.
She also created the mirrored maze-like installation Forest of Us for the inaugural exhibition at Superblue Miami, and was responsible for the closing ceremony at the London 2012 Olympics and the opening ceremony at the Rio 2016 Olympics, as well the British Pavilion at the Dubai 2020 Expo.
Devlin began her career in the theatre, after studying Fine Art at Central Saint Martins in London, and has created catwalk shows for designers including Louis Vuitton and stage sets for Kanye West, Beyonce and U2.
Her most recent work, called Come Home Again, saw Devlin create a large scale illuminated sculpture to highlight the 243 species on London’s priority conservation list – moths, birds, beetles, wildflowers, fish and fungi. Created in collaboration with Cartier, a St Pauls Cathedral-inspired pavilion featured Devlin’s line drawings of the endangered animals on the list and was showcased outside the Tate Modern and opposite St Pauls Cathedral.
Each evening at sunset, an interpretation of Choral Evensong was performed within the illuminated sculpture by London-based choral groups, combined with the calls of native birds, bats, and insects. The installation was on show in the Tate Modern Garden.
“A dome originally meant a home,” said Devlin, speaking about the Come Home Again sculpture. “The work invites us to see, hear, and feel our home, our city as an interconnected web of species and cultures, to learn and remember the names and sing those under threat into continued existence. The work echoes the invitation invoked by the 92-year-old climate activist Joanna Macy: “Now it can dawn on us: we are the world knowing itself. As we relinquish our isolation, we come home again... We come home to our mutual belonging.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2022 issue 4
Letters: Write to reply
Gordon Hartman, dad and founder of Morgan’s Wonderland on inclusion-centric thinking and action and Merlin Entertainments' Fiona Eastwood on inclusion and diversity...
People: Es Devlin
Known for her large scale public art installations, the designer and stage director has been awarded a CBE
People: Evert Poor
On what the Canadian Prime Minister’s visit meant for the Indigenous Peoples Experience
Interview: Ramona Bass
Half way thought a $130m masterplan and with conservation projects in 30 countries, Fort Worth Zoo is thinking big, its co-chair tells Magali Robathan
Research: Tough times
The cost of living crisis is already seeing the public cut its leisure spend, but these steps will help attractions keep visitors coming, says Jon Young
Innovation: Ars Electronica
Linz in Austria has reinvented itself as a city of innovation, with the future facing Ars Electronica Center at its heart
Tech: Emotional reward
Scientists have found a way to tweak video game difficulty according to player emotion, and it has huge potential for visitor attractions
Profile: Margaret Kerrison
The former Disney Imagineer is determined to share what she’s learned about creating absorbing worlds for visitors
Preview: Bird Paradise
Singapore is bringing its nature attractions together to help drive conservation and improve the visitor experience
Interview: Graham MacVoy
How the team behind Boomtown Festival harnessed their brand of creativity to build a unique permanent attraction
Scientific research: Under the sea
A new Red Sea scientific research centre and marine life attraction will offer visitors AR experiences, underwater walks, submarine dives and more
Tech: Getting personal
These operators are getting clever with technology, using digital companions to personalise the guest experience, creating opportunities for deeper connections
Devlin’s latest work features her drawings of endangered species / PHOTO: DANIEL DEVLIN
Artist and stage designer Es Devlin was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to design in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in October. She was awarded an OBE in 2015.
Devlin is known for her large scale public art installations, often inspired by nature, which include the Forest for Change – when she filled the courtyard of London’s Somerset House with trees – and indoor forest Conference of the Trees, created for the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, UK.
She also created the mirrored maze-like installation Forest of Us for the inaugural exhibition at Superblue Miami, and was responsible for the closing ceremony at the London 2012 Olympics and the opening ceremony at the Rio 2016 Olympics, as well the British Pavilion at the Dubai 2020 Expo.
Devlin began her career in the theatre, after studying Fine Art at Central Saint Martins in London, and has created catwalk shows for designers including Louis Vuitton and stage sets for Kanye West, Beyonce and U2.
Her most recent work, called Come Home Again, saw Devlin create a large scale illuminated sculpture to highlight the 243 species on London’s priority conservation list – moths, birds, beetles, wildflowers, fish and fungi. Created in collaboration with Cartier, a St Pauls Cathedral-inspired pavilion featured Devlin’s line drawings of the endangered animals on the list and was showcased outside the Tate Modern and opposite St Pauls Cathedral.
Each evening at sunset, an interpretation of Choral Evensong was performed within the illuminated sculpture by London-based choral groups, combined with the calls of native birds, bats, and insects. The installation was on show in the Tate Modern Garden.
“A dome originally meant a home,” said Devlin, speaking about the Come Home Again sculpture. “The work invites us to see, hear, and feel our home, our city as an interconnected web of species and cultures, to learn and remember the names and sing those under threat into continued existence. The work echoes the invitation invoked by the 92-year-old climate activist Joanna Macy: “Now it can dawn on us: we are the world knowing itself. As we relinquish our isolation, we come home again... We come home to our mutual belonging.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2022 issue 4
Letters: Write to reply
Gordon Hartman, dad and founder of Morgan’s Wonderland on inclusion-centric thinking and action and Merlin Entertainments' Fiona Eastwood on inclusion and diversity...
People: Es Devlin
Known for her large scale public art installations, the designer and stage director has been awarded a CBE
People: Evert Poor
On what the Canadian Prime Minister’s visit meant for the Indigenous Peoples Experience
Interview: Ramona Bass
Half way thought a $130m masterplan and with conservation projects in 30 countries, Fort Worth Zoo is thinking big, its co-chair tells Magali Robathan
Research: Tough times
The cost of living crisis is already seeing the public cut its leisure spend, but these steps will help attractions keep visitors coming, says Jon Young
Innovation: Ars Electronica
Linz in Austria has reinvented itself as a city of innovation, with the future facing Ars Electronica Center at its heart
Tech: Emotional reward
Scientists have found a way to tweak video game difficulty according to player emotion, and it has huge potential for visitor attractions
Profile: Margaret Kerrison
The former Disney Imagineer is determined to share what she’s learned about creating absorbing worlds for visitors
Preview: Bird Paradise
Singapore is bringing its nature attractions together to help drive conservation and improve the visitor experience
Interview: Graham MacVoy
How the team behind Boomtown Festival harnessed their brand of creativity to build a unique permanent attraction
Scientific research: Under the sea
A new Red Sea scientific research centre and marine life attraction will offer visitors AR experiences, underwater walks, submarine dives and more
Tech: Getting personal
These operators are getting clever with technology, using digital companions to personalise the guest experience, creating opportunities for deeper connections
London Museum will open four new food and drink destinations when it launches its new home
at Smithfield on 28 November, making hospitality a central part of the visitor experience at one
of the capital's biggest cultural openings of the year.
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
