The Cayuga Museum reopens in the spring with an all new assortment of exhibits. The primary new exhibit, “Fabrication: Telling Stories Through Clothing” will be featured in four galleries. The museum describes the exhibit:
“Clothing is much more intertwined with culture and communication than it may seem. The Jacquard machine, a loom invented in 1804 in order to speed up the process of producing complex textiles, became the foundation for modern day computers. The colloquialism “weaving a tale” is used when someone tells a long and intricate story. The act of creating textiles is both a metaphor for and an example of language. Clothing – a composition made of textiles – is therefore a type of communication. In Fabrication: Telling Stories Through Clothing, apparel items are presented with stories of their existence, and as stories themselves. What do these clothes have to say?
Encompassing several sections, the exhibition includes many types of clothing: wedding dresses, uniforms, and everyday fashions. Each of these types of clothing would have communicated its purpose to any viewer during the time period in which it was worn. Some of these objects still communicate their meanings to today’s audiences – most of the wedding dresses on display easily suggest the act of marriage, and clothing labels tell exactly where a garment was made. But there are also many things historic dress can convey to a contemporary audience about the past. Fashion is much more than a trivial matter, and clothing from the past can function as historic artifacts.”
This exhibit was developed by Guest Curator, Megan Gillen, who received her graduate degree in Fashion and Textiles Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, and has previously worked with fashion objects in the History Collections at the New York State Museum in Albany. Her research interests include dress reform movements, artistic dress, subcultures, and the history of cosmetics.
Support for this program is provided by the Fred M. Everett and Ora H. Everett Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee, the Nelson B. Delavan Foundation, Part A, Tompkins Community Bank, and the Cayuga Museum Exhibitor Sponsors.
The museum also announced the opening of a revamped exhibit exploring the history of the Auburn Correctional Facility, “Both Sides of the Wall: Auburn and Its Prison.” The changes include updated language, and a timeline exploring the major moments in the institution’s history. This change, according to the Museum, “is a midpoint between old and new as we endeavor to create a permanent exhibit about the Auburn Correctional Facility. As we work to include missing stories and improve the space we hope you will offer feedback about your experience to help us make this important history come to life.”
The Cayuga Museum will be open to the public beginning Wednesday, March 1 from 11 AM-4 PM. Regular hours of operation will resume at this time, with the Museum open Wednesday-Saturday 11 AM- 4 PM. Admission is $10 for visitors over 12. The Cayuga Museum of History and Art is located at 203 Genesee St. in Auburn, NY. Free parking is available in the lot behind the Museum and in front of the Museum on Genesee St. Our accessible entrance is behind the museum on the west side, facing the Schweinfurth Art Center. Learn more at cayugamuseum.org
