CSA Costume Design Award Grant

CSA Costume Design Award Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Costume Society of America
Amount: Up to US $1,350
Last Updated: October 15, 2025

Summary

The CSA Costume Design Award celebrates excellence in costume design for productions involving living performers across various media. Established in 2008, it acknowledges innovative and creative approaches in costume design. Awardees receive a certificate, a $750 honorarium, and an opportunity to present at the National Symposium, along with a $600 travel stipend. This prestigious award reflects the Costume Society of America's commitment to fostering outstanding visual design in performance.

Overview

The CSA Costume Design Award is given annually to recognize excellence in costume design in a production for theatre, film, television, or other media that involves dressing living performers. Award-winning productions demonstrate creative, innovative, and effective approaches to costume design. The designer of an award-winning production receives a certificate and a $750 honorarium, funded by the CSA Endowment (if the awardee is not a member of CSA, part of the honorarium will be applied toward membership in CSA). The designer is invited to present a brief overview of the design process at the National Symposium the following year and receives a $600 travel stipend and day-of-presentation registration fee, also funded by the CSA Endowment, to help defray travel and symposium expenses. The CSA Costume Design Award, first presented in 2008, reflects the Costume Society of America’s interest in and encouragement of creative visual design. The award has recognized excellence in costume design in various ways over the years: originally awarded for an entire body of work, the current award is given for excellence in a single production.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. To be eligible for the award a production must:be for living performers, whether for theatre, dance, opera, film, television, the internet, or other entertainment performances in traditional or non-traditional venueshave been performed in the 12 months preceding the nomination deadlineProductions will be evaluated by: Demonstrated creative, innovative, and imaginative approach to costume designEffective collaboration with the director, design team, and production teamContribution of the costume design to the storyline and characterization of the performersQuality of the presentation of costume design renderingsQuality of executed costumes and overall excellence as represented in submitted images and supporting materials