The Wondrous Willa Kim Exhibition at NYPL LPA

Willa Kim was known for bringing life to Broadway through her colorful costumes. Now, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (40 Lincoln Center Plaza) is celebrating the designer and two-time Tony winner in a new exhibition.

The Wondrous Willa Kim: Costume Designs for Actors and Dancers honors her long and colorful career and is the first-ever major retrospective exhibition that features an assortment of Kim's designs and costumes, including work from productions like Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, The Will Rogers Follies, and her final Broadway show, Victor/Victoria starring Julie Andrews. You can read more about the exhibition here.

Bobbi Owen, the curator of The Wondrous Willa Kim, is also the author of a monograph about Kim’s creative work. On April 17 at 6pm, Owen will present a close examination of Kim’s costumes in motion. You will have the chance to see Kim's innovative designs made in New York, captured in performance footage from works preserved in the Library’s theatre and dance moving image archives. Special guests from Kim’s life and career will join Owen. You can register for the free event here. 

Don't miss your opportunity to visit the exhibition on display in the Vincent Astor Gallery at the Shelby Cullom Davis Museum in the Library for the Performing Arts from February 23 through August 19.   

Photo: Willa Kim, 1966. detail of Photo © Jack Mitchell. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.