SONOYO NISHIKAWA WINS THE 2024 SIMINOVITCH PRIZE
Montreal-based lighting designer Sonoyo Nishikawa, acclaimed for her transformative and evocative lighting designs, is this year’s winner of Canada’s most valuable theatre award. Since 2001, the Siminovitch Prize has celebrated groundbreaking theatre artists whose work has strengthened the Canadian theatre landscape and advanced the art form. With a career spanning continents and collaborations with leading theatre artists, Nishikawa has established herself as a pioneering force in Canadian theatre. Sonoyo Nishikawa, the 2024 Siminovitch Prize Laureate, has selected Mayumi Ide-Bergeron as the Siminovitch Prize Protégé.
Sonoyo Nishikawa has established herself as one of the most visionary lighting designers in Canadian theatre. Trained in London under the sponsorship of Japan’s Ministry of Education and Culture, Nishikawa has collaborated with some of the world’s leading theatre artists. Her work includes celebrated productions with Robert Lepage, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Les Sept Branches de la Rivière Ota, for which she won a Dora Mavor Moore Award. Her innovative approach has earned her numerous accolades, including the Prix des meilleurs éclairages, awarded by l’Académie québécoise du théâtre, and the Prix Jacques-Pelletier.
“Sonoyo Nishikawa’s designs push the boundaries of what we expect lighting to do. Often working within challenging technical constraints and using an array of sources, Sonoyo unfailingly finds ways to transcend the limitations imposed and create unexpected and variously spectacular or intimate, compelling images that go far beyond typical theatre illumination. Known and admired for her dedication across all scales of productions, from indie theatre to opera, she brings the same excellence and attention to detail regardless of budget or venue. Her work embodies a profound spirit of collaboration, and her enduring commitment to experimentation and risk has moved theatre lighting into an expressive art form that reaches audiences on a deeply emotional level.” – Guillermo Verdecchia, 2024 Siminovitch Prize Jury Chair
READ SONOYO’S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
“The light on stage turns on and off, disappears and reappears, according to the ever-changing story, the movements of the performers, the rhythm of the music and the breath of the audience. It’s as ephemeral as fireworks. I aim to create lighting designs that give the audience hope for tomorrow, that leaves them with a lifetime of inspiration, just like watching a sunrise or sunset.”
– Sonoyo Nishikawa