Curatorial Projects
Over the years, I have worked on various curatorial projects related to art and dress history. I have served as a consultant to museums and other organizations on matters relating to the management of archives and collections as well as the dating and interpretation of paintings and dress artifacts.
My webcast about the Art Gallery of Ontario's 2020 acquisition of Portrait of a Lady holding an Orange Blossom is available on their website. I also have served on various committees and boards of several arts organizations, including the Textile Museum of Canada.
From Februrary 2012 until September 2019, I was solely responsible for the reprisal of the Fashion Research Collection at Toronto Metropolitan University (then known as Ryerson University). This collection had been dormant for many years and in February 2012. the collection was housed behind an unmarked door in the library, the database had been corrupted and was little known amongst the student body. I undertook to curate the collection to align with the values of the School of Fashion to celebrate heritage, diversity and innovation.
Over the course of my tenure, I catalogued more than 5000 artifacts, moved the collection from the library to a separate facility within the School of Fashion, initiated and integrated the donation of the Suddon-Cleaver Collection, created an online database making the collection accessible to all, designed curriculum related to the FRC, and led many workshops on object-based research both within the FRC and at other universities and museums.
In a project with the UK-based artist Dr. Sarah Casey, I acted as curator and provocateur to Sarah's artistic practice from 2016-2019. This project titled Exquisite Corpses was partially funded by the British Council and Arts Council England and resulted in two exhibitions of Sarah's work: Ruskin's Good Looking (8 February - 7 April 2019) at Brantwood Museum in the UK and also Absent Presence: A Wedding Dress and the drawings of Sarah Casey (9 May - 7 July 2019) at the Modern Literature and Culture Centre at Toronto Met University (formerly known as Ryerson University) in Canada. For more on our collaboration, see the British Council Design blog post #1 and post #2.
My webcast about the Art Gallery of Ontario's 2020 acquisition of Portrait of a Lady holding an Orange Blossom is available on their website. I also have served on various committees and boards of several arts organizations, including the Textile Museum of Canada.
From Februrary 2012 until September 2019, I was solely responsible for the reprisal of the Fashion Research Collection at Toronto Metropolitan University (then known as Ryerson University). This collection had been dormant for many years and in February 2012. the collection was housed behind an unmarked door in the library, the database had been corrupted and was little known amongst the student body. I undertook to curate the collection to align with the values of the School of Fashion to celebrate heritage, diversity and innovation.
Over the course of my tenure, I catalogued more than 5000 artifacts, moved the collection from the library to a separate facility within the School of Fashion, initiated and integrated the donation of the Suddon-Cleaver Collection, created an online database making the collection accessible to all, designed curriculum related to the FRC, and led many workshops on object-based research both within the FRC and at other universities and museums.
In a project with the UK-based artist Dr. Sarah Casey, I acted as curator and provocateur to Sarah's artistic practice from 2016-2019. This project titled Exquisite Corpses was partially funded by the British Council and Arts Council England and resulted in two exhibitions of Sarah's work: Ruskin's Good Looking (8 February - 7 April 2019) at Brantwood Museum in the UK and also Absent Presence: A Wedding Dress and the drawings of Sarah Casey (9 May - 7 July 2019) at the Modern Literature and Culture Centre at Toronto Met University (formerly known as Ryerson University) in Canada. For more on our collaboration, see the British Council Design blog post #1 and post #2.