Sonoyo Nishikawa, a lighting designer based in Montreal, won the Siminovitch Prize, Canada’s most prestigious theater award, on Monday evening in Toronto.
Posted yesterday at 7:00 p.m.
The award comes with a $100,000 scholarship. Of this amount, $25,000 is given to a protégé chosen by the winner, Mayumi Ide-Bergeron, a multidisciplinary artist living in Montreal.
Since its beginnings in 1986, Sonoyo Nishikawa has contributed to numerous projects, including several Robert Lepage shows, such as the piece-fleuve The seven branches of the Ota River et The dragon trilogy. In Quebec, she also worked with Brigitte Haentjens, Marie Brassard and Serge Denoncourt, among others. She has also distinguished herself with several designs presented in her native country, Japan, as well as in London.
“Sonoyo Nishikawa’s designs push the boundaries of our expectations of lighting,” said Guillermo Verdecchia, president of the 2024 Siminovitch Prize jury, in a press release. “Often faced with tough technical constraints, Sonoyo unerringly overcomes these challenges by employing a range of resources to create surprising and captivating images, whether spectacular or intimate, that transcend the lighting usual theater practices. »
“Known and admired for her dedication, she brings the same excellence and attention to detail to all the productions to which she contributes, regardless of their scale – from independent theater to opera – and whatever the budget or place. His work embodies a deep spirit of collaboration, and his enduring commitment to experimentation and risk transforms theater lighting into an expressive art form that touches audiences on a deeply emotional level,” continues Mr. Verdecchia.
In her application letter, the winner stated: “I aim to create lighting designs that give the public hope for tomorrow and inspire them for life, like watching a sunrise or sunset. sun. »
