Centre For The Less Good Idea – S6

Project Title / Name: William Kentridges Center for the Less Good Idea

Client / Institution / Brand: Centre for the Less Good Idea

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Year / Timeline: 2018-2021, Season 4, Season 5, Season 6, Highway Notice Project

Type of Project: Visual and Performing Arts Production, Scenography, Production Management, Production Design. 

One-line summary of the project’s big idea or purpose: Design and Production management of over fifty visual arts and performing arts productions for William Kentridges Center for The Less Good Idea. 

Core Services Provided: Concept design, technical drawings, procurement, fabrication oversight, installation, budgeting, scheduling, stakeholder coordination.

Design Concept / Inspiration: Each production had its own thematics, story, and desired visual language; it was our task and role to translate the expectations of the directors, cast,and artists in props, costume, scenography and set design.

Unique Features: Founded by William Kentridge, the Centre for the Less Good Idea brings together world-class practitioners from across the performing and visual arts. We were involved in its productions for four years, working within an environment that ranged from fast turnarounds—sometimes realising a production in just a week—to extended workshops that allowed ideas to be shaped in depth. At the heart of the Centre is a collaborative ethos, where every voice is valued and contributes to the creative process.

Challenges Overcome: Working with large teams across different disciplines was tough, meeting the different working styles of each department and having to facilitate productions in a way that all stakeholders feel like they are heard. 

Final Result: multiple productions of amazing bodies of work that were in the inception phase  that have since gone on to win awards.

Impact / Value: Building an appreciation for a production in its interdisciplinary context, showing the South African community and globally that every part of a production team is valued and seminal to the success of a body of work or production, the Centre is now world-renowned.

Notable Recognition: The Centre for the Less Good Idea has gone on to be a globally recognized institution.