Canada's longest running Black theatre company committed to reflecting Black culture and community.

Production Poster

Pipeline takes a powerful look into the broken education system, family ties, and the harsh reality of inequality.

Pipeline, a production by BTW and presented by La Licorne Theatre in Montreal, follows the story of a teen boy and his educator mother as they struggle with the complexities of race and social prophecy.

Through provocative illustration, a carefully curated colour palette, and meaningful typography, we were able to capture the complexities of this important play and represent that for some, the choices proposed in life may not actually present choices at all.

The title for this piece uses Bayard by Vocaltype, a unique sans-serif typeface inspired by signs from the 1963 March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom. Vocaltype is a Black-owned type foundry dedicated to increasing diversity and empathy in the design industry.

Part of the Process

To do this play justice, our team began by watching performance clips, reading segments of the script, and researching the school-to-prison pipeline. After many concept sketches, we decided on illustrating a boy in a jumpsuit walking down a school hallway that leads to a prison cell. Watch below to see our illustration come to life!