This season, the Design Lab provides hands-on experience and mentorship in Projection Design. This digital-hybrid program is for emerging designers looking to develop their craft and collaborate with other emerging artists. Participants receive mentorship, experiment in workshops with professional theatre designers, collaborate with artists from the directors lab, and have their work shared at the festival.
This program is presented with support from Cahoots Theatre
Julia Kim
Julia Kim is a set, costume, and projection designer. She holds a BFA (Hons.) in Performance Production from TMU, graduating in 2015. Julia’s early career included five seasons as an assistant designer at Shaw Festival and Stratford Festival. Her work has taken her across Canada and internationally, where she has designed for numerous theatre and dance productions. In 2021, she took on the role of resident designer and taught theatre design at Mount Allison University for 2 years. Recently, her work has been presented at Journées Théâtrales de Carthage in Tunis and SIDance Festival in Seoul.
Julia’s excellence in design has been recognized with nominations for the Pauline McGibbon Award in 2020 and the Virginia Myrtle Cooper Award in 2025.
IG: @yeon._.studio
Website: www.yeon.studio
Facilitating the Projection Design Lab for Paprika Festival 2026 has been a deeply rewarding experience. Working closely with two emerging designers, I’ve had the opportunity to support them as they navigate the creative and technical processes of projection design for theatre.
We explored how projection can function not just as a visual layer, but as an active storytelling tool.
Throughout the lab, I focused on creating a collaborative and exploratory environment where experimentation was encouraged. We discussed everything from conceptual development and visual research to software workflows and integration with live performance. Watching each designer being excited about new learnings and discovery was such a great joy. This lab became a space of mutual learning, curiosity, and growth.
I have always believed in mentorship in our industry. I’m grateful to Paprika Festival for fostering this kind of creative exchange, and I’m excited to see how these designers continue to evolve and contribute to the future of live performance.
— Julia Kim, 2026 Design Lab Facilitator
