OISTAT Executive Committee & Governing Board Meeting
Oslo, Norway, November 4-5, 2019

The Costume Design Sub-Commission has been highly active for many years, a fact well known among OISTAT members. However, after discussions during the OISTAT@50 celebration in Cardiff, August 2018, we’ve observed that some of the events we support, or in which our members participate, appear larger or more significant than what we actually produce as an OISTAT group. This observation, along with feedback from members suggesting we find ways to increase the visibility of our group’s activities, has prompted us to present a proposal to the OISTAT Executive Committee & Governing Board.

Initially, we considered creating a competition with a distinctive title, drawing inspiration from successful initiatives like TIP and TAC. However, we soon realized that competition does not truly reflect the identity of our group. What best represents us are the annual gatherings we’ve organized in various countries—meetings that go far beyond mere business discussions.

Our annual meetings are not just about administrative matters; they encompass a broad spectrum of activities such as:

• Lectures

• Roundtables

• Flash Talks

• Panels

• Workshops (with practical outcomes and/or debates)

• Exhibitions

• Business Meetings

• Professional Research (including visits to archives, costume shops, museums, and backstage tours)

• Visual documentation and summaries published in newsletters to capture the essence of the event.

Additionally, we curate the Costume Program at World Stage Design (WSD) and collaborate on costume sessions at the Prague Quadrennial (PQ). Given the growth and diversity of our biennial "meetings" between these two major events, we propose formalizing these gatherings into a named event, which would both raise visibility and allow for further expansion.

We suggest naming this event World Costume in Action (WCiA), inspired by the "Costume in Action" program curated by Donatella Barbieri and Sofia Pantouvaki at WSD 2013. Adding the word “World” reflects the event’s international scope and aligns with other OISTAT projects such as World Stage Design and the World Costume Congress, where this group started, in Las Vegas, in 1995.

Simona Rybákova - Chair

Rosane Muniz & Sofia Pantouvaki - Vice-Chairs

(2015 - 2023)