Costume Balls: The symposium

This two-day event aims to bring together a wide range of approaches to the unparalleled material and visual legacy featured in the exhibition Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927. The extensive historical record of the practice of dressing up assembled in the exhibition documents the minutia of lighthearted moments of life a century and more ago. Yet matters of far greater historical significance continued to be unsettled through the study of a phenomenon so ephemeral and seemingly inconsequential. What current questions have arisen from deep engagement with the material? How has that process opened up new methodological terrain?

The symposium will share new learning derived from the full spectrum of the process of creating the exhibition, from the slow curatorial process of identification and analysis of the extant garments and visual culture, through the subsequent rethinking of our objectives for conservation interventions, to creating relevance for contemporary audiences, both adults and children, and addressing historical injustices. It will feature talks by the McCord Stewart Museum’s specialists but also curators, artists and authors whose recent projects engaged with material from this archive. The programme will be rounded out by thematic exhibition and behind-the-scenes tours.

Information

• Series of talks and tours presented on Thursday, March 20, and Friday, March 21, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Registration required
  Reservation opening: February 4, 2025
  Register for both days to attend the full symposium.
• Presentations in French or in English (with simultaneous translation online only)
• At the Museum (J. Armand Bombardier Theatre) and online

Attend at the Museum or online