Wedding Dresses on Display at Museum of Industry
Nova Scotia Museum
October 26, 2000 11:45 AM
Twenty-three beautifully crafted wedding dresses made in rural
Alberta, and stories of the women who wore them, are on display
at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton until Nov. 30.
Sociologist Kathryn Church researched and curated Fabrications:
Stitching Ourselves Together. The exhibit centres around a
collection of wedding dresses sewn by her mother, Mrs. Lorraine
Church, of Lacombe, Alta, between 1950 and 1995.
In the exhibit, Dr. Church explores the complex relationships
between mother and daughter, dressmaker and wearer, women and
community. The exhibit premiered at the Red Deer and District
Museum in Alberta during the summer of 1998 and is now touring
across the country.
Many visitors to the exhibit have been moved to write personal
comments about their own wedding dresses, relationships and
struggles to gain recognition and value for women's work. Museums
have provided notebooks for this purpose. Museum staff and Dr.
Church have been elated by how the exhibit has caught the
imagination of the public and museums across the country.
The Museum of Industry is also hosting a complementary exhibit
linking Pictou County and Lacombe, Alta. On loan from local
families, To Have and To Hold is a collection of wedding
memorabilia reflecting the vibrant culture of Pictou County.
Objects such as photographs, shoes, gloves and garters are
displayed as reminders of entire wedding stories. To Have and To
Hold is displayed alongside Fabrications and will act as a visual
bridge between the experiences of these two communities.
As part of the exhibit, two special presentations are planned.
Designing Women: Technical Tales and Cultural Contradictions,
with Mrs. Lorraine Church, takes place on Saturday, Oct. 28, from
1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mrs. Church will illustrate how she invented
solutions for design challenges, such as applying 16 layers of
four-inch lace onto a netted skirt. During this seminar, Dr.
Kathryn Church will speak about the social and cultural aspects
of these garments. Admission is a monetary donation, with
proceeds going to Tearmann House.
The presentation Needles and Pins: A Mother-Daughter Journey is
on Sunday, Oct. 29, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Dr. Kathryn Church and
Mrs. Lorraine Church will perform a dialogue discussing the
personal journeys each took as Fabrications grew from an idea
into an intimate autobiography of work, women and wedding dresses
in central Alberta.
After the display at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton, the
exhibit will travel to Museum for Textiles in Toronto, from Jan.
20 to April 16, 2001; St. Catharines Museum in St. Catharines,
Ontario, from May 5 to Aug. 6, 2001; and Thunder Bay Art Gallery
in Thunder Bay, Ontario, from Sept. 1 to Nov. 1, 2001.
-30-
Contact: Denise Fraser-Taylor
Museum of Industry in Stellarton
902-755-5425
NOTE TO EDITORS--For background information on the exhibit, e-
mail release@gov.ns.ca.
kjd October 26, 2000 11:46 a.m.
Twenty-three beautifully crafted wedding dresses made in rural
Alberta, and stories of the women who wore them, are on display
at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton until Nov. 30.
Sociologist Kathryn Church researched and curated Fabrications:
Stitching Ourselves Together. The exhibit centres around a
collection of wedding dresses sewn by her mother, Mrs. Lorraine
Church, of Lacombe, Alta, between 1950 and 1995.
In the exhibit, Dr. Church explores the complex relationships
between mother and daughter, dressmaker and wearer, women and
community. The exhibit premiered at the Red Deer and District
Museum in Alberta during the summer of 1998 and is now touring
across the country.
Many visitors to the exhibit have been moved to write personal
comments about their own wedding dresses, relationships and
struggles to gain recognition and value for women's work. Museums
have provided notebooks for this purpose. Museum staff and Dr.
Church have been elated by how the exhibit has caught the
imagination of the public and museums across the country.
The Museum of Industry is also hosting a complementary exhibit
linking Pictou County and Lacombe, Alta. On loan from local
families, To Have and To Hold is a collection of wedding
memorabilia reflecting the vibrant culture of Pictou County.
Objects such as photographs, shoes, gloves and garters are
displayed as reminders of entire wedding stories. To Have and To
Hold is displayed alongside Fabrications and will act as a visual
bridge between the experiences of these two communities.
As part of the exhibit, two special presentations are planned.
Designing Women: Technical Tales and Cultural Contradictions,
with Mrs. Lorraine Church, takes place on Saturday, Oct. 28, from
1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mrs. Church will illustrate how she invented
solutions for design challenges, such as applying 16 layers of
four-inch lace onto a netted skirt. During this seminar, Dr.
Kathryn Church will speak about the social and cultural aspects
of these garments. Admission is a monetary donation, with
proceeds going to Tearmann House.
The presentation Needles and Pins: A Mother-Daughter Journey is
on Sunday, Oct. 29, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Dr. Kathryn Church and
Mrs. Lorraine Church will perform a dialogue discussing the
personal journeys each took as Fabrications grew from an idea
into an intimate autobiography of work, women and wedding dresses
in central Alberta.
After the display at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton, the
exhibit will travel to Museum for Textiles in Toronto, from Jan.
20 to April 16, 2001; St. Catharines Museum in St. Catharines,
Ontario, from May 5 to Aug. 6, 2001; and Thunder Bay Art Gallery
in Thunder Bay, Ontario, from Sept. 1 to Nov. 1, 2001.
-30-
Contact: Denise Fraser-Taylor
Museum of Industry in Stellarton
902-755-5425
NOTE TO EDITORS--For background information on the exhibit, e-
mail release@gov.ns.ca.
kjd October 26, 2000 11:46 a.m.