FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 17, 2024
CONTACTS: Corinna Schulenburg | [email protected] | 212-609-5941
Theatre Communications Group Announces the 2024 Recipients of
Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship
NEW YORK, NY – Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, is pleased to announce Camilla Carrasco and Lana Huong as the recipients of The Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship 2024. Administered by TCG with support from The Estate of Willa Kim, the Scholarship provides exceptionally talented costume designers who are enrolled in a university or professional training program with the opportunity to supplement their fine arts training in hand-drawing and painting. The Scholarship honors costume designer Willa Kim's legacy and her life's work as a pioneer, legend, and inspiration for many of today's theatre artists. Learn more about the recipients and The Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship here.
“Willa Kim’s designs are famous for their color and texture, both exuberant and elegant,” said LaTeshia Ellerson, chief growth office, TCG. “Thanks to The Estate of Willa Kim, these two early-career costume designers will fully develop their skills so they can make their own bold contributions to costume design.”
“It’s said that Willa Kim wouldn’t begin designing until she’d first been to rehearsal to see how the performers moved,” said Karena Fiorenza, chief executive officer, TCG. “Then, she’d use her training as an illustrator to create designs in full harmony with their movement. We’re excited to honor that legacy of embodied artistry by supporting a new generation of designers.”
“At the beginning of her career, Willa Kim wanted to be an illustrator, and she brought that passion for hand-drawing into her groundbreaking work as a costume designer,” said Emilya Cachapero, director of grantmaking programs, TCG. “TCG is proud to support her legacy by ensuring that future generations of costume designers will have the craft needed to realize their creative visions.”
The 2024 recipients are:
Lana Huong, a Vietnamese-American artist and fashion designer hailing from San Jose, California, now calls New York home as she passionately blends storytelling with her creative designs. Her current worldbuilding project, "Pride and Power, Tales of Ocellus," is a collaborative effort with artists encompassing an original narrative, cast of characters, screenplay, music, set, and prop designs. Lana's childhood fascination with fantasy literature and cinema flourished during the 2020 quarantine, where she self-taught sewing and pattern drafting via online tutorials. Embracing sustainability, Lana repurposed materials to bring her fantastical visions to life in both her artwork and clothing. Her unique pieces bridge the gap between fantasy and fashion, offering a glimpse into her vivid imagination. Explore Lana's captivating world at lanahuong.com, where her creations invite you to embark on a journey through her creative universe.
Camilla Carrasco (she/her) is a Latina interdisciplinary artist born and raised in Miami, Florida. She explores the realms of fashion, costume design, and fine arts. Carrasco is a Drama major in the Production & Design studio at New York University Tisch School of the Arts focusing on Costume Design. Prior to studying at NYU, she completed a Foundation Diploma in Fashion & Textiles at Central Saint Martins in London, UK.
Scholarship recipients receive up to $7,500 to be used towards tuition, registration fees, supplies and/or travel expenses over a one-year period between February 15, 2024 - February 15, 2025. For more information, visit https://tcg.org/Web/Our-Work/Grant-and-Professional-Development-Programs/willa-kim-24/overview.aspx.
The Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship panel included Alejo Vietti, a costume designer and an adjunct professor; Oana Botez, a set/costume designer and an adjunct professor; and Susan Tsu, a costume designer and a professor.
Willa Kim was a costume designer for ballet, theatre, opera, and television. Among many honors were Tony Awards for Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies and Tommy Tune’s The Will Rogers Follies, and Tony nominations for Peter Allen’s Legs Diamond, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Song & Dance, Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, and Joel Grey’s Goodtime Charley. She won Drama Desk Awards for Jean Genet’s The Screens, Irene Fornes’ Promenade, and Sam Shepard’s Operation Sidewinder; Obie Awards for Robert Lowell’s The Old Glory and Lanie Robertson’s Woman Before A Glass; and Emmy Awards for the PBS broadcasts of Michael Smuin’s ballets The Tempest and A Song For Dead Warriors. Ms. Kim received lifetime achievement awards from the Fashion Institute of Technology and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology. The Theatre Development Fund honored her with the Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2007 she was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.
Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Since its founding in 1961, TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 700 Member Theatres and affiliate organizations and over 7,000 Individual Members. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. TCG offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the biennial TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG's partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America’s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 21 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. TCG believes its vision of “a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre” can be achieved through individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice. TCG is led by Chief Growth Officer LaTeshia Ellerson and Chief Executive Officer Karena Fiorenza. www.tcg.org.
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