Resume

CREATIVE ACTIVITY (select creative work):
• 2024 The Pleasure of Small Art, MVA (Modern Visual Art) Gallery, Bethlehem, PA.
• 2024 Gathering, Amplify Arts at Generator Space, Omaha, NE. Organizer, collaborator, exhibiting artist
• 2024 10x10x10xTieton, Tieton Arts + Humanities, Tieton, WA. (Juror: Angelina Villalobos, Artist, Activities, Muralist, Seattle, WA)
• 2024 Mountain Plains Contemporary Art Biennial, Salina Arts Center, Salina, KS. (Juror: Jane Burke, Curator, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO)
• 2024 Native Stories of Perseverance in Art + Cancer, The Union for Contemporary Art in partnership with University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE.
• Tales from the Underworld, Pilobolus Dance Theatre world premiere American Dance Festival, Raleigh-Durham, NC.
• Bulrusher, McCarter Theatre + Berkeley Repertory Theatre co-production. Dir. Nicole A. Watson
• Noctuary, Pilobolus Dance Theatre, world premiere American Dance Festival, Raleigh-Durham, NC.
• Awaken Heart, Pilobolus Dance Theatre, world premiere American Dance Festival, Raleigh-Durham, NC.
• The Ballad, Pilobolus Dance Theatre, world premiere American Dance Festival, Raleigh-Durham, NC.
• Epic, Dir. Michael John Garces; Great Plains Theatre Conference.
• Hooded: or Being Black for Dummes, Dir. Tom Jones; Mixed Blood Theatre, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• The Bishop (film), wardrobe | makeup | hair, Dir. Kip Fagan; c/o Diperna & Associates, New York City, NY.
• Mermaid Hour: Remixed, world premiere, Dir. Leah Anderson; Mixed Blood Theatre, Minneapolis, MN.
• Stranger from Paradise, world premiere, Dir. Kevin Lawler, Music Dir./Maestro Hal France; Opera Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska.
• Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers, Dir. Vincent P. Scott, National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.

CREATIVE RESEARCH- Peer- Reviewed Conference Proceedings, Residencies, and Presentations (select):
• Interlochen Center for the Arts, Faculty, Summer Intensive, Costume Design
• 2024 selected designer, Indigenous Haute Couture- Digital Embellishment, residency, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Alberta, Canada.
• Amplify Arts Alternate Currents Working Group, member artist.
• Invited Presenter: “Pocket Guide to Cultural Appropriation in Design.” United States Institute of Theatre Technology National Conference (virtual).
• Panelist/Judge, Omaha Fashion Week multiple seasons.
• St. Pierre Smith, V. “Appropriation and Representation in Design,” Inaugural speaker for The Salon speaker series. Selected by, and presented to (virtual), graduate students, Center for Pedagogy in Arts and Design at The Pennsylvania State University,
• “Finding Authentic Voices: Representing Cultures Other Than Our Own.” Presenter, United States Institute for Theatre Technology national conference, Louisville, KY.
• “Connective Threads: Inspiration, Appropriation and Artistic License.” Presenter, Fashion, Race and Cultural Appropriation in Fashion symposium, Central Saint Martins, University of Arts- London, London, England, June.
• “Feathers and Fringe: Commodity, Spectacle and What It Looks Like to Be ‘Indian’.” Panelist, oral paper presentation. Association of Theatre in Higher Education national conference, Las Vegas, NV, August.
• “Coyote and Raven: Spectacle, Performance and Indigenous Identity.” Panel Chair/coordinator, oral paper presentation. Association of Theatre in Higher Education national conference, Las Vegas, NV, August.

INVITED PRESENTATIONS AND LECTURES (select):

• “Decolonizing the Narrative Series: Valerie St. Pierre Smith,” Sept. 25, 2024. Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Alberta, Canada.

• St. Pierre Smith, V. (2021). “Appropriation and Representation in Design,” Inaugural speaker for The Salon speaker series. Selected by, and presented to (virtual), graduate students, Center for Pedagogy in Arts and Design at The Pennsylvania State University,
• St. Pierre Smith, V. (2021). “Pocket Guide to Cultural Appropriation in Design.” Invited speaker, United States Institute of Theatre Technology National Conference (virtual).
• St. Pierre Smith, V. (2020). “Inspiration, Appropriation, and Design in Production.” Invited speaker, presented (virtual) to faculty and students, Department of Theatre, Shenandoah University. Shenandoah, VA.
• St. Pierre Smith, V., et. al (2019). “Experiences of Women of Color in Theatre.” Invited Panelist, People of Color Network, United States Institute for Theatre Technology national conference, Louisville, KY.

HONORS, AWARDS AND AFFILIATIONS (select):
• Fulbright Scholar Program - Scotland Distinguished Scholar Award in Art and Humanities at the University of Edinburgh, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, finalist.
• Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region V Commendation for Achievement in Costume Design, The Clearing.
• Design Wing Fellow, Great Plains Theatre Conference.
• 1st Place Design, Tehra + b Luxury Handbags, in collaboration with Omaha Fashion Week

• United Scenic Artists 829, member
• Costume Society of America, former member
• United States Institute for Theatre Technology, former member

PUBLICATIONS AND POSTERS (select):
• St. Pierre Smith, V. (2025- anticipated). Weaving the Strands: Decolonial Practices, Paradigms and Pedagogies for Art + Design (working title), Routledge Press
• St. Pierre Smith, V. (2024). “Who R You: The Economics of Identity – or – What Does It Cost to Be Me?” We Free Us, Amplify Arts Alternate Currents Reader
• St. Pierre Smith, V. (2021). “Pocket Guide to Cultural Appropriation in Design.” United States Institute for Theatre Technology Costume Commission Digital Archives.
• St. Pierre Smith, V. (2020), contributor. In Darby, J., Elkin-Mohler, C. and Stanlake, C. Critical Companion to Native American and First Nations Theatre and Performance: Indigenous Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.
• St. Pierre Smith, V. (2019). “Finding Authentic Voices: Representing Cultures Other Than Our Own.” United States Institute for Theatre Technology Costume Commission Digital Archives.
• “An Interview with Valerie St. Pierre Smith.” Words by Wright, J. In Ethics, Hierarchy, and Imperialism: Preserving Voices Vulnerable to Erasure. Shades of Noir / University of the Arts, London, England.
• St. Pierre Smith, V. “The Three Sisters: Lessons on Inspiration, Appropriation, and Design.” HowlRound Theatre Commons, November 1. https://howlround.com/three-sisters.

PROFESSIONAL ARTS EXPERIENCE
• 2019 – present VSmith Healing Art & Design – Interdisciplinary Designer, Owner
Indigenous Fashion, Costumes, + Textiles
• 1998 – present Freelance Costume Designer, Artisan
• 2012 – 2015 Program Director – Arts Administrator, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey, MI

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
• 2015 – 2020 Associate Professor of Theatre, Head of Costume Design.
University of Nebraska at Omaha
• 2006 – 2011 Assistant Professor of Theatre, Costume Designer & Costume Shop Director.
The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

RELATED SERVICE (select):
Service to the Profession:
• United States Institute for Theatre Technology
o Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion National Committee member.
o Vice Commissioner of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Community. Costume Commission
• Organizer, Moderator. Omaha Regional Theatre COVID Summit- 3:
virtual conversation sessions with breakouts addressing how to navigate the COVID Pandemic for regional theatre making groups.
• Mentor, United States Institute for Theatre Technology Gateway Program for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
• Invited Collaborator, Shades of Noir Creatives of Color database, London, England.
• Fashion Arts Collective (formerly Fashion Institute Midwest), supported designer.
• Association of Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE).
o LatinX, Indigenous, and the Americas focus group member.
o Women and Theatre focus group member.
• United Scenic Artist (USA) 829, member.
• United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), member.
• Costume Society of America, member.
• United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) National Conference Portfolio Reviewer.

Program + College Service:
• Scholarship Coordinator for Theatre Department.
• Academic Advisor, undergraduate, all theatre majors within Program
• Student Recruiting activities
• Curriculum Revision- design and technical production curriculum within the B.A.Theatre program
• Cultural Enrichment Grant committee, College of Communication, Fine Art and Media.
• Dean search committee, College of Communication, Fine Art and Media.

Community/Social Justice Service:
• Founding board member, Healing Ribbons: a healing and wellness group for intergenerational Indigenous matriarchs, reclaiming empowerment, and identity through sewing and traditional craft.
• Mentor, United States Institute of Theatre Technology, Gateway Program

TEACHING ACTIVITY
Courses Delivered (select):
• Undergraduate
o Period Styles in Dress and Decor
o Patterning and Draping
o Foundations of Production Design
o Summer Internship
o Special Topics: Form and Figure
o Special Topics in the Arts: Riots and Revolutions
o History of Costume
o Introduction to Theatre
o 3D Techniques of Costume Crafts (service-learning course)
o Costume Design (Newspapers in Curriculum course)
o Theatre Production
o Understanding the Theatre
o Introduction to Costume Design
o Theatrical Makeup Design
o Basics of Production Design
• Graduate
o Costume Design
o History of Costume
o Patterning and Draping – Special Topics
o 3D Techniques of Costume Crafts (service-learning course)
o Mentorship
o MFA Theses Direction

EDUCATION
• San Diego State University, Master of Fine Arts, Theatre Design: Costume Concentration.
• Stephens College, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Theatre.