Sarah Gahagan is a multimedia artist as well as costume and puppet designer for theatre, dance, festivals and stop-motion animation film. She has done costume design and collaboration work with many of Oregon's beloved arts organizations including: Artist Repertory Theatre, Oregon Children's Theatre, Miracle Theatre Group, Lord Leebrick Theatre and Michal Curry Design.
Sarah has received four Drammy Awards, Portland's annual recognition of excellence by a consortium of theatre critics, for her costume design in the 2008-09 and 2009-2010 Seasons. She has also received national grants and awards such as the Tobin Theatre Arts Travel Award and her design work was featured internationally at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial's Scenofest Exhibit. Her costume design work has been seen in issues of both American Theatre and Theatre for Young Audiences Today. Sarah attended The University of Oregon, where she received a BS in Theatrical Production Design and a BFA in Textile and Fiber Arts.
Sarah is interested in deepening and exploring her aesthetic voice through visual design and craft. She is interested in period-accurate costume, avant-garde fashion, and sustainable design and fabrication, including use of natural and recycled materials. She gains inspiration from deconstructing and reconstructing pre-existing clothing, historical garments and texts, ancient theatrical craft, and ephemera, all of which—she believes—can bestow upon us richer stories and details of spaces other than the ones we normally allow ourselves to inhabit. She continually works to create visual stories with attention to contemporary innovations and traditional techniques.