Toronto, September 14, 2026 – Costume designer Rachel Forbes is the 2026 winner of the Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, this annual $30,000 award recognizes exceptional achievement by a mid-career professional costume designer in Ontario.
Beginning this year, the Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award is introducing an annual Protégé Award in support and recognition of emerging theatrical costume designers in Ontario. Rachel Forbes has selected Des’ree Gray to receive the inaugural $7,500 Protégé Award.
About Rachel Forbes
Rachel Forbes is an award-winning set and costume designer creating for theatre, dance, opera and film. Her designs have been seen on stages, sites and screens all across Canada. Rachel is particularly interested in the development of new works, interdisciplinary explorations, experimental creation methods and designer-led theatre projects. Her explorations of non-traditional design practices led her to study at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU) in pursuit of a master’s degree which is currently in progress. Rachel proudly serves on the board of directors of the Associate Designers of Canada (NASO) where she curated and co-created the project “Designing the Revolution” and continues to help develop and lead the workshop “Training the Eye”. She is an avid mentor, teacher, and supporter of young-in-craft designers, particularly young designers of colour. Rachel has designed, mentored and taught at Toronto Metropolitan University, Sheridan College, University of Toronto, Obsidian Theatre’s Young Gifted and Black program and the Soulpepper Academy.
Recent Costume Design credits include: Copperbelt, Da Kink in My Hair, A Streetcar Named Desire (Soulpepper Theatre); Slave Play, Fairview (Canadian Stage); Of the Sea (Tapestry Opera/ Obsidian Theatre); Harlem Duet (Bard on the Beach); The Doctor’s Dilemma (Shaw Festival).
“I am deeply honoured to be the 2026 laureate for the Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award,” said Rachel Forbes. “It’s a great privilege to be counted among the talented laureates and nominees. I have endless gratitude for my mentors, collaborators and the costumers who make it all possible through their dedication and artistry. It means a lot to be part of a growing number of Black designers in this country, and I hope we continue to see a diverse future for costume designers and makers in Canada.”
Assessment
Rachel Forbes was selected by an assessment panel comprising of Victoria Bruer (Toronto) seamstress, constructing costumes for numerous theatre companies, including the Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival and Blyth Festival; Rouvan Silogix (Thornhill) theatre designer, actor and playwright, and Artistic Director of Modern Times Stage Company; and Michelle Tracey (Toronto) costume designer, and recipient of the 2025 Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design.
The assessors were unanimous in their choice of Rachel Forbes as the 2026 Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design. They said, “Rachel has a unique artistic voice creating stunning looks. We are impressed by her clarity of inspiration and ability to communicate specificity. Her looks include dramatic silhouettes, strong colours and outstanding fabric manipulation. Rachel understands how to elevate costumes, giving the characters extraordinary potential to tell their stories.”
Artist renderings from Slave Play, Canadian Stage, 2025.
About the Protégé Laureate
Des’ree Gray is a Toronto based Costume Designer with experience in film and theatre. She is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Production Design Program and takes pride in her abilities in all stages of the design process.
Costume Design credits include: A Case for the Existence of God, Appropriate (Coalmine Theatre); Tyson’s Song (Pleiades Theatre); The Flight (Factory Theatre); The First Stone (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre). Associate Costume Design credit for Treemonisha (Volcano Productions). Assistant Costume Design credits include: Frankenstein: Revived, Little Women (Stratford Festival); Fairview, Maanomaa, Da Kink in My Hair (Canadian Stage).
About the Award
Established through a generous gift under the will of Dr. Virginia Cooper, the Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award is to be given “For the Love of Creation”. Dr. Cooper served as a director of the Tarragon Theatre and was a charter member of the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto and active in its activities. She had a keen interest in the performing arts, particularly in costume design.
The Ontario Arts Foundation manages the endowment that funds the award, and the Ontario Arts Council manages the nomination and adjudication process.
Previous award winners include Michelle Tracey (2025), Nadine Grant (2024), and Vanessa Imeson (2023). See the full list of previous recipients here.
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For information, please contact:
Bruce Bennett, Executive Director
Ontario Arts Foundation
Tel: (416) 969-7413 bbennett@oafdn.ca
Established in 1991, the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2025-2026, the OAF paid $5.7 million in endowment income to arts organizations and $630,000 in grants and awards to artists and arts organizations.
For more than 60 years, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts for the enjoyment and benefit of Ontarians. In 2024-2025, OAC invested its grant program budget of $52.2 million in 204 communities across 123 Ontario ridings, providing 1,969 grants to individual artists and 1,030 grants to organizations.
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