Designer Fruzsina Nagy Selected For New Work Development Artist Residency

Costume designer and visual theatre director Fruzsina Nagy has been selected for the second-annual New Work Development Artist Residency at the Texas A&M College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts.

The Hungary-based artist will create and present new work, collaborate with students and faculty and give interdisciplinary presentations through Sept. 26. Nagy was selected by the college’s Artists and Scholars in Residence Committee.

James R. Ball III, Ph.D., associate dean for industry and community engagement and committee member, said the residency allows artists to engage with the campus community. The artist receives a $10,000 stipend for living expenses and project materials; lodging and travel; and has access to school facilities and student assistance.

Nagy works in Budapest and other European cities as a costume designer for theatre performances. She is a full-time associate professor at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, where she teaches costume design and mask-making in the scenography department.

“I decided more than 25 years ago that I wanted to make and create performances that are visual, and the main character or main protagonists are the costumes,” she said. “I love experimenting with performances that are unusual and push boundaries.”

Nagy incorporates inflatables, LED light, body paint and soundboards into her art. An exhibition of her work will be showcased at the J. Wayne Stark Galleries in the Memorial Student Center from Sept. 12 through Oct. 31.

With an emphasis on interdisciplinary projects and collaborations, the residency aligns with her priorities, Nagy said, and she is collaborating with faculty across the college to produce her new work.

This includes a dance installation on Sept. 26 at the Physical Education Activity Program Building. It tells the story of refugees who have been separated by borders, war and politics through abstract images and music.

The piece will focus on a couple “who are madly in love and wake up one day and cannot live in the same country anymore,” Nagy said.

“I want to show their anguish, frustration and pain that comes with this. It’s a sad story that shows how, in the end, they build walls around themselves.”

Ball said the committee members were impressed by Nagy’s costume work, her inflatable and sculptural designs and her passion for storytelling. He wants Nagy and future visiting artists to feel inspired by the faculty, students and the college’s creative environment.

“Especially in the way we approach interdisciplinarity, by all the different expertise of our faculty and the energy of our students — we want that to just really be impactful for the artist,” Ball said. “We want the residency to be a productive time.”

Nagy said she is grateful for the support and encouragement she’s received from the college.

“This is the first time I have ever applied for an artist residency in my life,” Nagy said. “I thought I would give it a go, but I wasn’t expecting to win it. So, I was really happy when I got the news they chose me.”