Marcos Viñals Bassols
Scenographer / Art Director
marcos@bassols.art
about
Marcos Viñals Bassols is a free-lance scenographer and artistic director with thirty years of international practice, working across large-scale shows, immersive experiences, theatre, and museum design.
Over the past three decades, he has created, designed, and directed numerous large-scale shows, theatre productions, ceremonies, and television programmes across Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and China, working alongside directors including Franco Dragone and Franz Marijnen.
Since 1999, he has designed a wide range of themed exhibitions and museums — permanent, temporary, and touring — including the Orval Abbey Museum and the Memorial of the Battle of Waterloo.
The fusion of these two disciplines — theatrical storytelling and spatial design — is the foundation of his approach to immersive experience design. He is the creator of The Smurf Experience (2018), Bubble Planet (2023), and Titanic: An Immersive Voyage (2024). These three experiences are currently touring simultaneously across multiple cities worldwide. Titanic alone has played more than 25 cities across four continents. Bubble Planet has reached more than 30 cities, welcoming over one million visitors in London alone.
His work has been recognised with multiple awards including the Belgian Theatre Award for Best Scenographer (1998), two EUBEA Silver European Best Event Awards (2014), the Visit Brussels Award for Best Exhibition (2018), and the World Travel Award (2019).
His creative philosophy: technology does not create emotion. What creates emotion is unchanged since always — context, narrative, journey, meaning, tension, surprise, transformation. That is what he designs.
HIGHLIGHTS
Titanic : An Immersive Voyage, concept, design, storytelling and art direction of a touring exhibition that brings the legendary ship’s story to life through a collection of authentic artifacts, full-scale recreations with audiovisual effects, an immersive projection show, and a walkable VR journey, 2024.
Kuwait National Day, show direction, storytelling, and art direction for the Kuwait National Day show for a massive audience set on surrounding beaches and live on national TV. Introducing laser drones, a 1.500 drones choreography, and an amazing pyrotechnic show, 2023.
Bubble Planet, concept, design, storytelling and art direction of an immersive experience inspired by the playful world of bubbles. Visitors travel through surreal dreamscapes, including a hot-air balloon simulator, a VR experience, an interactive LED floor, a giant ball pit, and an infinity room, 2022.
The Smurf Experience, concept, design, storytelling and art direction of an immersive experience blending real-size sets with VR, video mapping, motion capture, and holographic projections. Visitors follow an educational trail about the UN’ Sustainable Development Goals. 2018.
Kuwait Museum, show direction, scenic design, storytelling, and art direction of the Grand opening show of the Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Center, combining cutting-edge technology and live acts showcasing the Center’s five museums, 2018.
The Land of Legends, scenic design for the permanent Gate Show directed by Franco Dragone, based on a monumental steel gate that opens into the magical world of The Land of Legends with a spectacular performance of water, light, lasers, video projections, music, and live performers, 2017.
Waterloo Memorial, permanent exhibition design of the Battle of Waterloo Memorial, marking the 200th anniversary of the historic battle. Set beside the Lion’s Mound, it combines dramatic scenic installations, a striking costume gallery, and interactives to bring history vividly to life, 2015.
Education
Master of Fine Arts degree in Scenography at the Superior National School of Visual Arts of La Cambre, Brussels, 1989-1994
Studies of interior architecture at Institut Saint-Luc, Brussels, 1988-1989
Scenic design for theatre, workshop directed by Josef Svoboda, 1998
Scenic design for opera, workshop directed by Willy Decker, 2000
Work Experience
Since 1994 : Scenographer & Art Director for theater, shows, events, opening ceremonies, entertainment, musicals, dance & concerts.
Since 1999 : Exhibition Designer & Concept Designer for exhibitions & museums.
Since 2009 : Art installations creator, concept design, design development, and production of art installations
Since 2014 : Stage Director for shows, opening ceremonies and exhibitions, including script writing and storytelling
Languages
Spanish °°°°°
French °°°°°
English °°°°°
Dutch °°°°
Catalan °°°°
Italian °°
softwares
Photoshop °°°°°
VectorWorks °°°°°
Sketchup °°°°°
Vray for Sketchup °°°°
