The Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship program is no longer accepting applications for the 2024 round.

Deadline: Friday, December 8, 2023 11:59pm ET. Please note the time zone.

 

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Overview Program Description TIMELINE Application Information Past Recipients


Past Recipients

2023 Recipients

Claudia Brownlee (Pittsburgh, PA) is a costume designer from the Washington Metropolitan area. She has worked as a freelance costume designer in the past at NU-World Contemporary Danse Theatre and Pittsburgh Public Theater. Currently, she is pursuing an M.F.A. in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama ('23). As an artist, Claudia is interested in telling diverse stories bridging cultural gaps and finding ecological design methods for costume designers. Claudia holds an associate's degree in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and a B.A. in Theater from the University of Maryland College Park.

Kaʻiukapu Baker (Honolulu, HI) is a Native Hawaiian theatre artist from Kahaluʻu, Oʻahu. Raised in the practice of Hana Keaka, she has performed with Ka Hālau Hana Keaka since 2004. Ka'iukapu is currently pursing a MFA in Hawaiian Theatre at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, where she performed in kaipulaumakaniolono's nationally acclaimed He Leo Aloha and the world premiere and New York tour of Haili'ōpua Baker's 'Au'a 'Ia: Holding On. Kaʻiukapu has designed costumes for Holly Chung's ʻŌhiʻa Lehua, Ākea Kahikina's Hoʻoilina, Iāsona Kaper's Ka 'Umikūmālua o nā Pō, and Reiko Ho's devised piece Chinee, Japanese, All Mix Up. Kaʻiukapu is passionate about collaboration in the design process and nurturing relationships with fellow Kanaka Maoli artists in her community.

Lia Wallfish (Chicago, IL) is a Jewish-Israeli costume designer and painter. Born in Israel, Lia moved to the United States after completion of her military service to pursue her craft. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Theater at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). She is currently based in Chicago, Illinois where she is a third year student in the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at Northwestern University. In her art, Lia hopes to challenge conventions she experienced growing up in Israel and is devoted to telling stories that inspire inclusion and healing.

2020 Recipient
Jeanna DiPaolo (Harrison, NY) is an upcoming senior at SUNY Purchase college, studying for a BFA in Costume Design. She grew up in Upstate New York, Averill Park. As a child she remembers sitting wide-eyed next to her Grandma and Dad watching old Hollywood films. The dazzling costumes of Orry- Kelly, Edith Head, and Travis Banton mesmerized her. She began sewing outfits for her dolls and gradually began designing and making costumes for all her school plays. The combination and interaction of art, history, fashion, and human behavior influences every character she designs.
2019 Recipients
Regan A. McKay (Wittenberg, WI) began her first year at San Diego State University (SDSU) where she will pursue a Masters of Fine Arts in Costume Design. “Costume design is the only area of entertainment design that involves such intimate and collaborative work with performers, and the designer’s role in fostering this relationship is essential,” said McKay on her approach to costume design. McKay will supplement her curriculum at SDSU by taking additional noncredit courses in life drawing and painting over the course of her first two semesters.
Stella Katz (Brooklyn, NY) is pursuing her Bachelors in Theatre Arts Design & Technology with a Concentration in Costume Design at the State University of New Paltz (SUNY). “I love imperfection and humanness in costume. Costume is not supposed to be perfect but should be curated in a way where everything has purpose. I want to fine tune my skills so I can better communicate the way I understand characters and people,” said Katz. To that end, she will participate in a variety of courses at The Art Students League in New York, NY, including fashion illustration, life drawing, gesture drawing, and anatomy and drawing.
Victoria Nicolette Gist (Houston, TX) is pursuing her Masters of Fine Arts with a focus in Costume Design at the University of Houston. ”I am a storyteller; one who creates a tangible, visual bridge for the audience into the world that the director has envisioned. Collaboration is key, and creativity is everything,” said Gist. With that in mind, she will bolster her training in figure drawing and painting in acrylics, watercolors and oil, becoming more skilled in working in different media and more adept at conveying her artistic vision on paper. As a recipient of the Scholarship, Gist will study at the Art League Houston (ALH), which offers specified coursework for artists at various stages in their training.
2020 Recipients
2019 Recipients