Turning Ideas Into Art By Es Devlin

In a new lesson for educational streaming platform, MasterClass, artist and designer Es Devlin offers her tips for unlocking creativity and bringing ideas to life

It’s an age-old complex for any creative: how to transform a groundbreaking abstract concept into a tangible piece of art. Renowned artist and designer Es Devlin might just have an answer by unlocking the door to her creative process.

In a newly-launched lesson for educational streaming platform Masterclass, Devlin offers top tips on how to go from concept to concrete art. Devlin’s renowned large-scale sculptural installations and designs across music, theatre and visual arts have seen her create everything from installations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum to set designs for Beyoncé and The Weeknd.

‘We should be part of a world where we aren’t defined or diminished by narrow labels but can instead continue to grow and learn throughout our careers,’ Devlin says. ‘In my class, I will help members turn their ideas into something they can hold in their hand and encourage those that might meet a fork in the road and don’t know which path to take to take both, and then take both again.’

Over two decades, Devlin has carved a corner as one of the most influential creatives of a generation. In performative sculptures and environments that fuse music, language and light, she collaborated with some of the world’s most leading international artists, including Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, and U2, and traversed a range of disciplines including drama, dance and opera.