Original version

BBC World Service Australasia

In the Studio

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Inside the brains of the world’s most creative people

In the Studio takes us into the minds and processes of leading and emerging figures from across the creative world.

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service East Asia

In the Studio: Devan Shimoyama: Rhinestones and telephone lines

Magazines & Reviews

Devan Shimoyama: Rhinestones and telephone lines

07/12/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - In the Studio, Devan Shimoyama: Rhinestones and telephone lines

Creating a sparkling work of hope in response to tragedy

Creating a sparkling work of hope in response to tragedy.

In The Studio enters the dazzling world of American visual artist Devan Shimoyama as he makes a brand new installation for the recently re-opened Arts and Industries Building at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. 

Reporter Kristin Vermilya follows Devan in the months leading up to the Smithsonian’s Futures exhibition as he completes work on The Grove, an imagined future monument created in response to the turmoil and tragedy of 2020, surrounding racial violence in the U.S. and the Coronavirus pandemic.

We hear the painstaking process of creating a shimmering urban forest of utility poles bedazzled with thousands of rhinestones and Swarovski crystals complete with gem-studded shoes and silk flowers dangling from their power lines. And how drag culture and his grandmother’s innate sense of style has inspired this radiant artwork which represents a space for both collective grieving, and the healing power of hope.

Presented by Kristin Vermilya
Produced by Edwina Pitman for the BBC World Service

Accessibility links

Programme Index

In the Studio

Devan Shimoyama: Rhinestones and telephone lines

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Australasia

About BBC World Service