Design for Stage and Film

Ntokozo Fuzunina Kunene

is a Costume and Production designer, hailing from the Johannesburg township, Vosloorus, in South Africa.

Since she was a child, Ntokozo has been a lover of storytelling stemming from the joy she found in reading. This is when she first discovered the power of the imagination. She believes that films and theatre are the representation of the collaborative power of the imaginations of the crew involved. As a result, she enjoys collaborating with artists of diverse backgrounds to create new and unique stories and perspectives.

Throughout her career, Ntokozo has had the opportunity to collaborate with numerous artists, including Spike Lee, André Holland, Sandra Oh, Jin Ha, Pauletta Washington, and Isaiah Seret. She has worked at theatres across the U.S including The Public Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, and The Atlantic Theatre; and she has had the privilege of sharing her love for her craft through teaching, having held professorship positions at Fordham University, Colgate University, and Hamilton College in New York. Most recently Ntokozo assisted her Production Design mentor, Akin Mckenzie, as the Researcher and Assistant Production Designer, on the award-winning film, The Woman King, starring Thuso Mbedu and Viola Davis. 

Ntokozo holds an MFA in Design for Stage and Film from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and a Fashion Design qualification from Istituto Marangoni in London. Her experiences living in New York City and London, combined with her South African cultural heritage have afforded her a unique design sensibility. She also acquired a unique blend of a passion for creating combined with a pragmatic approach to design, as a result of her undergraduate Bachelor of Commerce Degree (majoring in Economics, Business Finance, and Law) from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (South Africa).

In the next chapter of her story, Ntokozo looks forward to sharing her experience and expertise by providing technical support and resources to assist local South African designers and creatives by bringing their imaginations to life, through her creative agency, UMSIKO. 

As long as humans exist, there will always be stories to tell. Ntokozo looks forward to continued collaborations and shared imaginations.