Past Virtual and In-Person Programming
Opening Celebration | Jungji Doh: Embroidery as Cultural Heritage 도정지: 한국의 문화유산, 전통자수
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 |5:30 – 7 p.m. |Avenir Classroom
Join us for an exhibition opening celebration! Enjoy first looks at our new exhibition, light refreshments, and opening remarks from Jungji Doh, a celebrated artisan of traditional Korean embroidery. Opening remarks are at 6 p.m.
Author Talk and Book Signing - Ruth M. Alexander
Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023 | 7-8:30 p.m. Mountain Time | Avenir Classroom
The Avenir Museum welcomes CSU’s Department of History to our large classroom space for an author talk by CSU Professor Emerita Ruth M. Alexander, who recently published Democracy’s Mountain: Longs Peak and the Unfulfilled Promises of America’s National Parks with the University of Oklahoma Press. Dr. Alexander’s expertise as a teacher and scholar extends from the history of women, race, and politics in the United States to American environmental history and the history of national parks. She was a founding member of CSU’s Public and Environmental History Center, and as a Principal Investigator on PEHC projects she has conducted research for Rocky Mountain National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Scotts Bluff National Monument, and Fort Collins Utilities.
Book copies available for sale at the event, thanks to the CSU Bookstore – and Dr. Alexander will be signing. Join us for an engaging evening!
Heirloom Histories
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023 | 7-8:30 p.m. Mountain Time | Avenir Classroom
Sarah Silvas-Bernstein, curator of the current exhibition Kindred Keepsakes: Honoring the Heirlooms and Heritage of James Galanos, is a Design and Merchandising graduate student as well as an educator, entrepreneur, and vintage dress enthusiast. Her work and research is rooted in the historic and socio-cultural and political aspects of dress.
Silvas-Bernstein led a discussion with the relatives of fashion designer James Galanos (1924-2016) to explore treasured objects steeped in memories from their family. Bring one garment, textile, or photograph of your own that tells a story of family heirlooms or heritage for an evening of show-and-tell-style sharing.
James Galanos was as an American dressmaker whose quality and construction rivaled that of European couturiers. He styled starlets such as Marilyn Monroe, socialites including Betsy Bloomingdale, and First Lady Nancy Reagan. Yet, Galanos fostered a lifelong commitment to remain near to those he held dear… his family.
Visiting Scholar Talk: Kristi Tredway
Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 | 7-8:30 p.m. Mountain Time | Avenir Classroom
Kristi Tredway, Ph.D. presents: Ted Tinling and the Women’s Professional Tennis Revolution
Dr. Kristi Tredway is a research associate at Johns Hopkins University researching breast cancer disparities across social factors. She was a professional tennis player from 1988 to 1992 and was coached by Rosie Casals. She will be speaking about Ted Tinling who created feminine tennis attire that supported women despite assertions of lack of femininity due to their physical expression of skill and power.
Center Court: CSU Women's Tennis at the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising
Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023 | 3-5 p.m. Mountain Time | Avenir Museum
Join us to celebrate fashion and sport! Visit the exhibition Courting Style: Women’s Tennis Fashion from the International Tennis Hall of Fame, enjoy a lively program about the past, present, and future of women’s tennis at CSU, then meet and mingle with the 2023-2024 CSU Women’s Tennis team. Let’s toast their success in the upcoming season! Go, Rams!
Mai-Ly Tran, Head Coach, CSU Women’s Tennis
Jon Messick, 1989-2016 Head Coach, Women’s Tennis
Paula Alaszkiewicz, Ph.D., Avenir Museum Curator/ Assistant Professor of Design and Merchandising
Meet and greet with the CSU women’s 2023-2024 Tennis team.
Complementary light refreshments and bar serving drinks including the signature cocktail of the US Open Tennis Championships the ‘Honey Deuce’
U.S. Open Watch Party
Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023 | 4-6 p.m. Mountain Time | Avenir Classroom
Join us to watch the U.S. open live at the museum and visit our current exhibition- Courting Style: Women’s Tennis Fashion. There will be Honey Deuce Mocktails and Snacks!
Collector Conversations
Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022 | 7-8:30 p.m. Mountain Time | Linda L. Carlson Classroom – Room 157
Mark Shelstad of Colorado State University Special Collections and Archives and Linda Moore of the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery will present as part of the Collector Conversations series.
This series profiles collecting institutions on campus and in the community through presentations and collaborative conversations. Sponsored by a grant from the Lilla B. Morgan Memorial Endowment, a premier supporter of arts and culture at CSU. Please help grow this fund with a gift.
Mr. Blackwell Celebration: Conserving Couture
Friday, Nov. 18, 2022 | 6-8:30 p.m. Mountain Time | Linda L. Carlson Classroom – Room 157
Join us for an evening celebrating student work inspired by fashion designer Mr. Blackwell (1922-2008). Hear stories of the legendary designer from those at Colorado State University who knew him best and from the apparel design students who have been inspired by his legacy. Your registration or donation will support the professional textile conservation of Mr. Blackwell gowns and is deeply appreciated.
Collector Conversations
Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022 | 7-8:30 p.m. Mountain Time | Linda L. Carlson Classroom – Room 157
Jeannine Pedersen-Guzman of the Archaeological Repository of Colorado State University and Ollie Bode of the Global Village Museum of Arts and Cultures in Fort Collins will present as part of the Collector Conversations series.
This series profiles collecting institutions on campus and in the community through presentations and collaborative conversations. Sponsored by a grant from the Lilla B. Morgan Memorial Endowment, a premier supporter of arts and culture at CSU. Please help grow this fund with a gift.
Avenir Museum Quarterly Book Club
Saturday, October 22, 2022 | 5-6 p.m. Mountain Time | Virtual Meeting on Zoom
The Avenir is pleased to announce our selection for our next Quarterly Book Club virtual gathering! Please plan to procure a copy from your preferred library or bookseller, and then join us on Zoom on Saturday, October 22 from 5 – 6 p.m. for a lively discussion of ‘Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present’ by Alison Matthews David. It is described as “Fabulously gory and gruesome, Fashion Victims takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the lethal history of women’s, men’s and children’s dress, in myth and reality.”
This a Virtual/Zoom Meeting. See you all on October 22, 2022, at 5 p.m. M.T.
Welcome, Paula!
Thursday, September 15, 2022 | 7-8:30 p.m. Mountain Time | In-Person Presentation
Join us to extend a warm CSU welcome to new Avenir curator and Design and Merchandising assistant professor Paula Alaszkiewicz, who will introduce herself with a fascinating presentation on her research interests in apparel history.
Avenir Museum Quarterly Book Club
Sunday, May 22, 2022 | 5-6 p.m. Mountain Time | Virtual Meeting on Zoom
The Avenir Museum would like to remind you about our selection for the Spring 2022 Book Club’s virtual gathering! Please plan to procure a copy from your preferred library or bookseller, and then join us on Zoom on Sunday, May 22 from 5 – 6 p.m. for a lively discussion of Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment by Maxine Bedat. It is described as “A groundbreaking chronicle of the birth – and death – of a pair of jeans, that exposes the fractures in our global supply chains, and our relationships to each other, ourselves, and the planet.”
"Girl Powder" by Katelyn Schmidt - Discussion and Q&A
Thursday, April 7, 2022 | 7-8:30 p.m. Mountain Time | In-Person Presentation
Join us at the Avenir Museum for the first in-person program since Spring 2020 on Thursday, April 7, at 7 p.m. for a discussion and Q&A session with Schmidt.
Girl Powder is a portfolio and capsule collection of seven complete snow sport looks that embrace athleticism and functionality while holding femininity at the crux.
Designed by current CSU doctoral student Kate Schmidt during her master’s program in design and merchandising, the collection is informed by qualitative methodology, including observation and interviews.
Avenir Museum Quarterly Book Club
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 | 5:30-6:30 p.m. Mountain Time | Virtual Meeting on Zoom
The Avenir is pleased to announce our selection for the Fall 2021 Book Club’s virtual gathering! Please plan to procure a copy from your preferred library or bookseller, and then join us on Zoom on Wednesday, November 17 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. for a lively discussion of Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle (Abrams Books, 2019) by Clare Hunter. This book is described as “a chronicle of identity, protest, memory, power, and politics told through the stories of needlework…to celebrate the age-old, universal, and underexplored beauty and power of sewing.” We look forward to hearing how the book’s thoughtful prose and meanderings through time and place about plying a needle and thread speak to you. It seems a fitting book to read in these contemplative times we are living through, as autumnal days arrive.
Where is Every Body? Mannequins and Mounts Student Panel
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 | 7 p.m. Mountain Time | Virtual Presentation on Zoom
The CSU graduate students in Spring 2021’s Care and Exhibit of Museum Collections course (DM563) come back together to present a Fall 2021 special event. Join us on Zoom on Wednesday, October 27, at 7 p.m. for a virtual panel discussion and Q&A session with the team who researched, curated, and installed the Avenir Museum’s current Where is Every Body? Mannequins and Mounts exhibit. Though they may seem like interchangeable, neutral background components in an apparel exhibit, you’ll learn why the choice, modification, and staging of specific mannequins matters a great deal.
CSU American West Program - Yufna Soldier Wolf
Thursday, October 14, 2021 | Virtual Presentation on Zoom
In partnership with the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising and the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, CSU’s Public Lands History Center was proud to bring Yufna Soldier Wolf to CSU as the American West Program speaker. A former director of the Northern Arapaho Tribal Historic Preservation Office and the founder of Soldier Wolf Consulting, Yufna Soldier Wolf shared her experience successfully repatriating the remains of three Northern Arapaho children from the Carlisle Indian School, the United States’ oldest and largest residential school (1879-1918). Together with Northern Arapaho elders, Soldier Wolf negotiated with the U.S. Army to implement the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and bring her tribe’s children home.
Wandering Spirit: The History of African Wax Prints
September 23, 2021 | Virtual Presentation on Zoom
Watch this virtual program with Dr. Gifty Benson, the guest curator of the exhibit “Wandering Spirit: African Wax Prints” on display at the Avenir through December 17, 2021. A retired pediatric dentist born in Ghana, West Africa, Dr. Benson discussed the historical and contemporary significance of these textiles, their cultural and economic importance, and how the wax prints reflect the stories, dreams, and personalities of the people who wear them.
Curator Conversations - April 2021
April 19, 2021 | Virtual Presentation on Zoom
In conjunction with the virtual exhibition Threads of Our Community: A History of the Avenir Museum, Curator Dr. Katie Knowles and Assistant Curator Megan Osborne (’04) held a conversation with Curator Emerita Linda Carlson (‘88). Listen in as Linda remembers projects and events over her 23 years as curator, with questions from the virtual audience. This conversation was filmed at the Avenir Museum, including behind-the-scenes in the museum’s collection storage room. Check out this evening of fabulous story-telling about the museum’s fascinating textile treasures.
Curator Conversations - November 2020
November 5, 2020 | Virtual Presentation on Zoom
In conjunction with the virtual exhibition Threads of Our Community: A History of the Avenir Museum, Curator Dr. Katie Knowles and the CSU Alumni Association teamed up for a program that profiled the people and the objects central to the creation of the University’s historic apparel and textile collection now known as the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising. The conversation was filmed in the Collections Storage area of the Avenir Museum, with Dr. Knowles sharing behind-the-scenes details, signature stories, and a lively audience Q&A session with the program audience.
Caring For Your Family Treasures
December 8, 2020 | Virtual Presentation on Zoom
Join CSU Libraries and the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising for expert advice on how to preserve your family archives, photos, and textile heirlooms. Staff provided tips on how to store various items, and how to create digital files to record and organize important information. Staff also answered live questions from the audience. Learn how to save and document your artifacts and the stories they tell about your family’s history.