JICC | Curator Talk: Pieces of the Pattern with Diana Tolin

Presented by the Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan with support from The Japan Foundation New York, The World Cosplay Summit, and Curator Diana Tolin.

Join World Cosplay Summit Alumna and Curator of Crafting Global Friendships: Celebrating 20 Years of the World Cosplay Summit Diana Tolin for a deeper look into the world of cosplay on the international stage. Diana will be accompanied by Guest Panelists and World Cosplay Summit Alumni (USA 2015), (USA 2019), and (USA 2021).

This curator talk includes a panel discussion and Q&A that will further expand on the JICC's current exhibition with firsthand accounts of the world’s largest international cosplay competition, its history, and current developments. The panelists' discussion will focus on the rise of cosplay in social media and how the world of cosplay is more interconnected than ever before. They will closely examine how the medium has become a gateway to creativity, self-expression, and human connections without borders.

Diana Tolin has been a cosplayer and member of the anime industry for over 25 years. She worked in licensing, translation, and localization before following her passion for costuming and cosplay and starting her own business, Dial C Costumes, in 2016. Since then, she has crafted costumes for companies such as Square/Enix, Marvel Entertainment and SCRAP Real Escape Rooms. After representing the United States at World Cosplay Summit in 2016, she produced and curated the WCS Team USA Retrospective with the cooperation of WCS USA Alumni teams throughout the United States.

In 2018 Diana joined the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, becoming the organizer for WCS USA and Entertainment Coordinator for their flagship show, Anime Expo. In 2020 and 2021 she developed digital cosplay events for SPJA/Anime Expo Lite, the Match Your Mask-querade and Anime Expo Lite Cosplay Spot-Lite’ competitions, as well as produced educational, cultural, and scripted content.

She has recently served as a guest curator for the Williams College Museum of Art exhibit Repro Japan: Technologies of Popular Visual Culture, been a producer, script writer, and on site showrunner for Anime Expo Lite 2022, and currently works with Cosplay events around the world as a producer and director of events including Ultimate Cosplay Championship, Holiday Matsuri and World Cosplay Summit, Inc.

AlpacaAsh is a Texas-based cosplayer and artist who represented the United States at the World Cosplay Summit in 2015. She and her partner YummyGamorah presented costumes from Ai Yazawa’s Paradise Kiss and placed 3rd in the Grand Championship while also receiving the Brother Award for Best Costume in their representative year. You can learn more about her .

JoshuaHart Design is a New York based cosplayer and clothing designer who represented the United States at the World Cosplay Summit in 2019. He and his partner GarnetRunestar presented costumes from the video game Bloodbourne and placed 2nd in the Grand Championship while also receiving the first Biore Award for Best Make Up their representative year. You can learn more about him .

ChibiTifa is a DC Metro based cosplayer and writer who represented the United States in the World Cosplay Summit in 2021. She and her partner Barracuda Cosplay were the first United States representatives in the World Cosplay Summit Video Championship, presenting in costumes from Revolutionary Girl Utena and paving the way for a new style of competition at the summit. You can learn more about her .

Host or Publisher Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan