Kate Sutton-Johnson is a Creative Director, Storyteller and Designer, specializing in experiential design for both live events and permanent installations. Kate holds a BFA degree in set design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and she was the recipient of the 2007 Ivey Award for Emerging Artist and the 2016 Ivey Award for Set Design.
Kate is currently at work on several ambitious Design Futures projects. These experiential, story-driven applications are providing opportunities for people of all abilities and backgrounds to see firsthand a glimpse of the future: possible worlds where they can explore and play as active participants in manifesting a planet, society and technological landscape that sustains and supports life.
All of Kate’s work stems from a rich foundation in theatrical design. She has worked professionally at the highest levels of American regional theater for the past twenty years. Her credits include contemporary dramas, classical theater, large-scale musicals, devised work and everything in between. Her theatrical work has appeared at the Guthrie Theater (MN), Asolo Repertory Theatre (FL), Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (MN), the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IN), the Children’s Theatre Company (MN), the 5th Avenue Theater (WA), Theatre Latte Da (MN), Weston Playhouse (VT), Mixed Blood Theatre Company (MN), Park Square Theatre (MN), Florida Stage (FL) and the Riverside Theatre (FL.)
As a museum exhibit designer, Kate touches every aspect of the 3-dimensional environment, ensuring that visitors experience unforgettable immersions into natural history, anthropology, science, ethnography, archaeology, and conservation. Her ability to combine proven engagement techniques with innovation and the unexpected, result in designs that deeply engage audiences in new ways of thinking and learning. From a dynamic and accessible floor plan to the selection of exhibit finishes, Kate manages all aspects of the exhibit’s design. She also plays a major role in content development and the experiential aspects of the design including close collaborations with interactive and media developers. Her thoughtfulness for details and advocacy for visitors consistently result in powerful exhibit experiences.
From 2017-2021, Kate was the Creative Director at Split Rock Studios, an employee-owned exhibit design and build firm based in St. Paul, MN; prior to that, she worked at the Science Museum of Minnesota, serving as the Senior Exhibit Designer from 2011-2017. She designed the world premiere traveling exhibition entitled MAYA: Hidden Worlds Revealed which toured the U.S. for nearly a decade. This 15,000 square foot exhibit employed hundreds of priceless artifacts, massive replicas, and immersive environments to show audiences the fascinating social, natural and spiritual realms of the ancient Maya and their highly advanced civilization. In researching for this project, Kate traveled to Belize with a Science Museum of Minnesota team. There, she explored many major Maya sites (including caves used for ritual practices) met with museum professionals and leading archaeologists in the field, and participated in interviews with modern descendants of the ancient Maya. Seeing the powerful connections the modern Maya have to their rich past, and yet how tenuous these connections can become over time, is a reminder of how important it is to learn and celebrate our collective human history in all its many facets.
Over the past decade, Kate has additionally taught set design, exhibit design and scenic painting at both the BFA and MFA levels at a number of institutions including the University of Minnesota, Hamline University, Augsburg College, and Macalester College. She is frequently engaged as a public speaker and she welcomes the opportunity to talk with audiences, students, and colleagues about experiential, story-driven design.
In 2011, Kate was generously awarded a TCG Global Connections grant and traveled to Congo Brazzaville for twenty-one days. This project was life changing and continues to be an unending source of inspiration. Connections made with other artists on this journey cemented many of her long-held beliefs about the universal language of theatre. At the same time, mishaps and miscommunications associated with this first-world-meets-third-world experience taught her to question new aspects of her art. Working with indigenous cultures on future projects is a clear passion and a goal. Her previous experience in Africa has given her a richer understanding of the complexity of an international collaboration. Click here for a spotlight on Kate’s theatre collaboration in the Republic of Congo.
Photography courtesy of Amy Anderson.