Live Design: Scenic/costume designer Clint Ramos is one of 50 artists selected as 2020 USA Fellows by United States Artists (USA). Selected across ten different disciplines, each of the 50 awardees receives an unrestricted $50,000 cash award, which honors their creative accomplishments and supports their ongoing artistic and professional development. Fellowships are given in architecture & design, craft, dance, film, media, music, theater & performance, traditional arts, visual art, and writing. Ramos is the sole theatre designer so honored in 2020.
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Looking at Ramos’ work, he definitely deserves to be recognized for his artistry and creativity. I know of his work and the production that he has been involved in are all important, in the sense that they provoke conversation and as Ramos says, they give voice to those who are often not heard. It’s truly amazing and encouraging to see that awards can still be diverse. I can’t help but compare this to the Oscars and the Golden Globes etc. where there is a clear lack of diversity in the nominees. It’s not that people of color have not produced phenomenal work this year, they are just cast aside. This is why awards like the USA Fellow are important. It supports the livelihood and creativity of artists, especially artists of color. I also love that people behind the scenes are getting credit because it’s often actors and on-stage persons who get the most attention!
First of all, I think it is so cool that Ramos excels in both scenic design and costume design. His set for Slave Play is stunning and captivating, and I always love when artists incorporate mirrors into their work. Seriously, there is so much symbolism in the incorporation of our own reflections into a narrative, and this particular plot of Slave Play is no exception. I admire his quote that states: “Whoever you are, if you live in this country you are part of the conversation.” Even if the script of the play does not move the audience to feel more involved in the issues of our country, than the design of the set, which is inescapable as an audience member, will enforce that responsibility as American citizens.
I also admire what he did with Jennifer Hudson’s Aretha Franklin costumes. He put “his own spin” on them, which can be daring as a designer. You do not want to look like you’re just copying the designs of someone else, but you do not want to stray from the truth, either. I am so excited to see his work on that film. Overall, I think that he is so deserving of this honor.
Ramos is one of the most interesting designers and people that I have read about. I had the pleasure of getting to interview with him for admission into Fordham, so I got to personally meet him and hear him speak about design first hand. I remember being really interested in the fact that he is so talented in both costumes and scenic. His work for Once on This Island was so beautiful and unique. I could not think of a person more deserving of this award than Ramos. He is a dynamic and inspirational person, working professionally in the Broadway and now film industries, as well as giving back to the theatre community as head of design at Fordham. While I was not considering going there at all, it was really cool to see someone as famous as he is wanting to give back to a program right in the heart of New York City. I am really glad to have met him, even for such a short amount of time, and I am really looking forward to seeing more of his work in the future.
Clint Ramos is an absolutely incredible and versatile artist, and it fills me with so much pride and joy that he was a recipient of this award. I had never actually heard of this USA Fellow award before, and after reading about it in this article, it is so refreshing to see a situation where a diverse cohort of artists is brought together and rewarded in a way that they are encouraged to move forward in their design careers. It is surprising to me that there is only one theatre artist out of the 50 people awarded, since theatre designers are heavily involved in demanding projects and create remarkable work. I’ve seen shots of Ramos’s mirrored pre-show set and I think it is a brilliant choice. I agree with what the article said about creating a very strong relationship between the audience and performers, since it is a show discussing such serious current issues. His work for Once on this Island was phenomenal. I'm so glad to see him receiving the recognition he deserves!
Clint Ramos' scenic design for Slave Play is definitely some of my favorite scenic design on Broadway at the moment, and his costume design is really astounding as well. He is such a great designer in both fields, which is really inspiring as an aspiring designer looking toward their own future in the industry. I hadn't heard of this award before reading this article, but it is a really fantastic group of performers, designers, and artists from a number of disciplines. Giving an award geared towards people pushing boundaries in their fields that comes with an unrestricted monetary prize is a great way of supporting the people who are making waves in the arts. It gives recognition to the work that is often ignored in the bigger awards ceremonies, and I hope that there will be more awards like these in the future. After reading an article on Deborah Dugan getting fired from the Recording Academy, I can't help but feel like we as a society might need to move on from some of the EGOT ceremonies that show consistent sexism and racism and give more attention to the ones that are making the changes we want to see.
Clint Ramos' designs in both Slave Play for scenic and Once on this Island for costume design were stunning and really stood out to me in the last few broadway seasons. When I saw once on this island, it was around the time I was applying for colleges, and his design for Once on this Island stood out so much to me that it inspired me to apply for Fordham University's School of Drama in their Design and Production option. Ultimately, obviously, I chose to come to Carnegie Mellon University, but I think that what he is doing in the industry right now is so interesting I am really glad he is getting recognized. I love that they give out this award for designers so that we can look more at the design side of the industry than we usually do. I think that Clint Ramos is pushing boundaries and doing interesting and never before seen things with his design which his exciting and interesting. Yay Clint Ramos!!
I am shocked that Clint Ramos is the first costume designer of color to win a Tony award for best costume design. We still have so much work to do in the entertainment industry when it comes to equality and diversity. I’m really glad that the USA Fellowship has concentrated on honoring people of color.
It’s really impressive that Clint Ramos is both a successful scenic designer and successful costume designer. I have not seen Slave Play but from the pictures I have seen the scenic design is very impressive! It’s wonderful that such a powerful production is bringing to light the struggles of race and sex in a new way. According to Ramos most of the audience members for Slave play have been women and people of color. Clint Ramos also designed the costumes for Respect a biopic about Aretha Franklin set between the 1940s and the early 1970s.
I do not often find that people who do both scenic and costume design (or split themselves any way professionally) tend to design to my personal taste. For Clint Ramos, however, I will suspend this method of thinking. I truly think that he is a visionary and, despite not having seen any of the productions he has worked on in person, the pictures that I have seen speak multitudes to his creative prowess. It is really amazing (read: absolutely dumbfounding) that Clint Ramos is the first designer of colour to win a Tony; hopefully, this will become a trend. I think it’s interesting to hear Ramos describe some of the shows he is doing as “alarms” - I had certainly never thought about these pieces as such but it is an apt description for shows that should - and are, in some cases - be shaking the foundations of our modern society.
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