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Keiko Shiraishi 白石恵子
Born in Shizuoka (Japan). She started her career “behind the scenes” working as a lighting technician while attending Kariyakita Regional High School. She studied also electric organ for 12 years at the Yamaha music school, graduating in 1988. After having trained at the Aichi University of Education (Japan) and the University of Delhi Department of Fine Arts (India), she graduated with honors in advanced textile design cours from South Delhi Polytechnic for Women in 1992. During her stay in India she also studied Indian classical music (tabla) at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and the Italian language at the Italian Cultural Institute in New Delhi.
In 1993 she had been admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, set design course. In 1994 she obtained a scholarship from the Theatre Company Hikosen (Tokyo), in 1997 her works received the first and second prize at the competition for students of Academies organized by ETI (Ente Teatrale Italiano). She did her internship at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma from 1995-97 and between 1997-98 at the Teatro di Roma (Public drama theatre).
In 1997 she graduated with honors from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. In the same year, she received a two-year funding from Aichi prefecture government, which allowed her to follow Edoardo Sanchi set designer and Rinaldo Rinaldi scenic artist in their activities.
In 1999 she moved to Modena where she initially collaborated with Rinaldo Rinaldi in the creation of theatrical backdrops and stage scenery for worldwide important productions.
Since 2000, as a freelance professional, she has been involved in the design and construction of stage setting and backdrop painting commissioned by the most prestigious opera houses, ballet companies and drama theatres in Italy and abroad. She has also held the position of Scenery Production Coordinator for the Fondazione Teatro Comunale Pavarotti – Freni of Modena, New National Theatre in Tokyo and the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (Italy) and others.
She has taught Scenic Painting in several advanced training programmes. From 2021 to 2023, she served as a lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice. Since 2023 she has been teaching Traditional Italian-style stagecraft to students from all over the world within the English-taught BA programme in Set Design at NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, Milan.
As one of the few backdrop painting atelier remaining in Italy, she promotes Italian-style set design mainly composed by painted back drops and soft flats. Not only for its cultural and artistic value, but also as a solution for an ecological scenography; for their light weights and reduced volume during the logistic operations, and for the materials used with low environmental impact – canvas, wood, and scenic powdered pigments (water-based colors). At the same time she is also dedicated to the preservation and continuity of the Sala di scenografia Koki Fregni within the Teatro Comunale di Modena, the only historic scenic painting atelier of its kind still active in Italy.