The master of fine arts program in costume production at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is going sci-fi.
When it opens its doors, the non-profit Museum of Science Fiction in Washington, D.C., will be the first comprehensive museum dedicated to science fiction, covering the history of the genre across the arts and providing a narrative on its relationship to the real world. Students and faculty from UNC-Chapel Hill’s graduate costume production program will create high-quality replicas of iconic costumes from classic science fiction cinema for use in future displays. The graduate program is part of the department of dramatic art in the College of Arts and Sciences. Scenic production staff will also be building props for the project.
The replicas created for the Museum of Science Fiction will be completed for display at the Preview Museum, the organization’s first exhibition space scheduled to open later this year, and other special events. An international design contest showcasing designs for the Preview Museum is now on display at the Brooklyn Public Library. The process by which UNC-Chapel Hill costumers create the exhibition pieces will be documented and shared with the public. Additional details will be revealed in the coming months.
“Our partnership with the Museum of Science Fiction is an excellent opportunity to combine the artistry of our discipline with the personal enthusiasm many of us have for science fiction in literature and film,” said costume production instructor Rachel E. Pollock. “These projects play into exactly what our students come here to learn: how to translate the concept of a costume from a rendering or a research image into a tangible article of clothing you can see and touch and wear.”
“The Museum of Science Fiction is thrilled to be working with such a talented team of artists in bringing these exhibits to life,” said Steve Dreyer, museum liaison and project manager. “The costume production team at UNC has time and again shown its ability to meet the high standards of the professional theater world, so I’m totally confident the out-of-this-world costumes and props they create will be truly spectacular.”
Graduates of UNC-Chapel Hill’s three-year MFA program in costume production are employed by such diverse companies as Cirque du Soleil and the Metropolitan Opera. Many work in production shops creating costumes for Broadway, television and film, and some have launched their own businesses such as the Brooklyn Pattern Company and B.D. Weger Tailoring. Students currently in the program work on productions that are mounted by PlayMakers Repertory Company, the professional theater in residence at UNC-Chapel Hill.
