Alexah Acuña (b. 1994, Chicago, IL) is an artist, production designer, and director based in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Mexico City. Acuña has over 10 years of experience working in the film and tv industry.
Growing up in the restaurant business, Acuña’s artistic roots began with a love of food. She spent many childhood summers in rural Iowa baking with her grandma, eventually competing in cake decorating and cuilnary competitions. An appreciation for fashion design and theatre followed.
At the USC Roski School of Art, Acuña studied sculpture and installation design, raising the question of what fine art “should” be. She aimed to create art that could be touched and experienced, something beyond sacred object. By mixing mediums, Acuña developed a passion for textures and how things feel. She soon discovered production design and became inspired by material culture, the objects that fill our world and their relationship to identity and story.
As a first-generation American with parents from Mexico, Acuña’s process is cathartic and personal, often referencing her own liminal feelings. She employs and explores the creepy, the dreamy, the dirty, the kitschy, the ugly, the artificial, the nostalgic, and most importantly, the other. A lover of trash, Acuña aims to mystify.
Acuña’s directorial debut , THUMP, a fantasy thriller short film based on true events, is currently beginning its festival run.
Contact
E: alexahacuna@gmail.com