New Threads 2016
New Threads is a reoccurring exhibition highlighting new donations to the Avenir before they are housed in collections storage.
The 2016 installation of New Threads was the first iteration of the exhibition, and featured garments, textiles, and tools recently donated to the Avenir, including a jacquard-woven coverlet, a batik printing block, Dolce & Gabbana Boots, and a Chanel Suit.
Curating a museum collection isn’t just about picking old or pretty objects and putting them in an exhibition – so what does make an object “museum-worthy”? In this gallery, we invite you into the mind of a curator by showcasing recently acquired garments and textiles, and explaining why and how each piece was accepted into the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising’s collection.
Since our founding in the early 1940s as the university’s Historic Costume Collection, the Avenir Museum collection has grown to some 20,000 objects. The majority of these objects are textiles and clothing; roughly half of the collection is comprised of pieces from Europe and North America, while the other half represents cultures and communities from around the globe, including embroideries from China, molas from Panama and printed Khangas from Eastern Africa.
Most of the museum’s acquisitions are donated, primarily by members of the CSU community and their families, but sometimes by others who know the collection by reputation. The Avenir Museum accepts donations, or occasionally purchases objects when a piece will help to fill in a gap or expand the collection, when it tells a compelling story, or when it provides evaluation and examination of styles or society over time.
At its core, the Avenir Museum is a teaching facility: collecting for the needs of current and future students is our first priority, and this mission is at the forefront of all acquisition decisions made by museum staff. Some of the first questions we ask when considering a new donation are:
- Will this object add to the educational value of the Avenir Museum collection?
- How and what will students learn from the object?
- Will our resources allow us to adequately care for this object in perpetuity?
- Does this object pose a threat to other objects in the collection?
(i.e. Will the material of the object become toxic as it breaks down over time? Will the material attract insects or vermin that pose a danger to the safety of the collection)?
