Costume Balls: The Symposium

Moderated by Cynthia Cooper

Costume Balls contains a visual and material legacy of astonishing breadth and depth. How is it that the Museum’s collections have come to hold so many historical objects and images documenting ephemeral moments of enjoyment? After conducting the deliberate research that led to a Master’s thesis completed in 1994, followed by a book and exhibition in 1997, I was satisfied that my work had uncovered most of the material and visual culture that existed in archives and museum collections relating to the practice of fancy dress balls in Canada. And yet, in my two and a half decades since then at the McCord Stewart Museum, I have continued to discover much more, seemingly serendipitously. I propose to explore this latter phase of “slow research” as a growth process, whereby the skills honed by my earlier work for the close reading of material culture and historical images have been developed by my ongoing exposure to larger volumes of such material. Moreover, this process has been accompanied by an ever-broadening awareness of the repertoire of popular Eurocentric references and the everyday manifestations of colonialism, imperialism and white supremacy so common in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Moderated by Cynthia Cooper

Zoë Tousignant, Curator, Photography 

In the late 19^th century, composite photography was commonly used to depict large groups at fancy dress occasions. For the people photographed, the composite was a commemorative object that celebrated (and offered proof of) their participation in an extraordinary and, in many cases, once-in-a-lifetime event. Given the strict conventions regulating all aspects of society life in the late 19th century (including what to wear and how to behave at a costume ball), this type of photograph was an ideal mode of representation. It allowed photographers to satisfy the demands of mass consumers while cultivating reputations built on relationships with clients positioned at the top of the social ladder. Eminently malleable, these images could be shaped to communicate the required message of social respectability, despite the presence at these events of a handful of non-conformist characters likely to attract controversy.

Moderated by Cynthia Cooper

Rebecca Basciano, Curator, Ottawa Art Gallery and Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Artist

This presentation will explore how historical narratives can be reimagined through contemporary art. By means of a conversation examining the intersections of photography, performance, and cultural memory, it will highlight the evolving role of historical archives and their influence on contemporary artistic practice.

Using the recent Ottawa Art Gallery exhibition Through the Ground Glass as a focal point—where historical works by William James Topley were presented alongside contemporary artists, including panelist Chun Hua Catherine Dong—this discussion will examine Dong’s engagement with Topley’s photograph of Mr. William A. Allan in costume for the Governor General’s fancy dress ball of 1876, wearing what he claimed to be traditional Chinese attire. The conversation will focus on Dong’s initial reaction to the archival image, their creative process, and the layered meanings embedded in their reinterpretation, which culminated in the photographic series Unmask Opera (2023). With this work, Dong confronts racial and gender stereotypes embedded in colonial photography, offering a powerful discussion of history, identity, and the politics of visibility.

Moderated by François Vallée, Head, Exhibitions

Laura Dumitriu, Senior Photographer, Elysa Lachapelle, Project Manager, Education, Community Engagement and Cultural Programs and Stéphanie Poisson, Head, Digital Outreach, Collections and Exhibitions

Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927 is a major exhibition that mobilized a variety of expertise from the Museum’s different teams. Moderated by François Vallée, Head, Exhibitions, this panel discussion will elucidate the respective roles played by Laura Dumitriu, Senior Photographer, Stéphanie Poisson, Head, Digital Outreach, Collections and Exhibitions, and Elysa Lachapelle, Project Manager, Education, Community Engagement and Cultural Programs, in preparing the exhibition. The panellists will discuss the way in which photography helped disseminate and document the exhibition content, the role of digital content and immersive technologies in enriching the visitor experience, and the creation of an interactive family tour designed to enable visitors of all ages and backgrounds to explore the exhibition.

Moderated by Caterina Florio, Head, Conservation

The 2024-2025 Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927 exhibition gave the McCord Stewart Museum’s Conservation team an exceptionally complex and wide-reaching assignment. The challenge of studying and preparing the exhibition of a variety of garments, accessories and objects from all the Museum’s collections created a unique opportunity for research, reflection, and creative problem solving. The ephemeral nature of the artefacts, the distinct character and history of each one, as well as the atypical abundance of archival sources are some of the aspects of this collaborative project that made it so enriching.

An assortment of Indigenous regalia and belongings worn as costumes is also featured in this exhibition. However, the conservation approach for these items considered a set of ethical concerns different from those employed for the 41 fancy dress ensembles.

Although the combination of elements in this exhibition has been unique, the knowledge we have acquired has advanced our overall conservation practice by incorporating ethical and practical tools derived from working with collections of very different natures.

Moderated by Caterina Florio, Head, Conservation

Sonia Kata, Conservator

A unique aspect of the conservation work for the exhibition was the ability to consult archival materials depicting many of the historic costumes, particularly photographs of ball-goers wearing these very ensembles from a century ago or more. These archival images were incredibly useful resources for our present conservation treatments as they showed us the original, or at least previous, state of the costumes when they were worn to fancy dress balls, although the garments have since changed due to alterations, loss, and deterioration over time. However, the course of treatment was not always the same for all costumes. While some costumes could be restored to better resemble their previous state through repairs, fills, and reproductions based on the archival photographs, other costumes could not, due to significant alterations or other conservation considerations. In either case, the archival images provided valuable, rare insight into the costumes’ state of preservation and history of use that would have otherwise remained unknown.

Moderated by Caterina Florio, Head, Conservation

Caroline Bourgeois, Conservation Assistant

Over a period of almost three years, more than 40 outfits selected for the exhibition—all of them unique and irreplaceable—were mounted by two members of the Conservation team specialized in costume mounting. This presentation looks at how these costumes were mounted in accordance with the highest conservation standards. The variety of silhouettes, the fragility of the sometimes-incomplete costumes, and the wealth of visual references helped guide our actions. Constantly engaging in periods of reflection and discussion, the team meticulously conducted many tests and used its expertise and creativity to create several reproductions. The result was memorable: the most ambitious costume-mounting project the Museum has ever undertaken.

Moderated by Caterina Florio, Head, Conservation

Camille Lafrance, Conservator and Amélia Desjardins, Technician, Conservation

For the exhibition, the Conservation department carried out the treatment and mounting of a Tudor Lady costume with the goal of reviving its original appearance based on historical photographs from the collection. The midnight blue velveteen gown is heavily embellished with faux pearls, and has a matching headdress, bag, and shoes.

Despite being nearly complete, the ensemble was missing its embroidered underskirt, and the velvet overskirt lay in a deconstructed state. Time had also deteriorated the costume’s splendour as the faux pearls were found to be extremely fragile, actively breaking like eggshells, and numerous beads were lost. Due to its condition, the costume could not be displayed in the exhibition without treatment.

This project prompted a symbiotic collaboration between conservators and costume mount makers as the conservation treatments needed to be carried out in stages, in sync with the construction of the custom mount. To restore the Tudor Lady to her original splendour, a digitally printed reproduction of the missing underskirt was created, the overskirt was reconstructed, all the faux pearls adorning the costume were stabilized, and more than a hundred missing beads were replaced.

Moderated by Jonathan Lainey

The majority of racialized impersonations observed at historically themed costume balls during a certain era in Canada were of Indigenous people. Popular visions and fantasies of the imaginary “Indian” therefore dictated how participants appropriated the image of the other: discrepancies, cultural amalgams, inaccuracies and even the destruction of Indigenous objects were all considered acceptable.

A closer look at the identity of some of the individuals thus costumed has revealed their social positions were far from innocuous; they included an Indian agent, a bureaucrat and superintendent of Indian Affairs, and a military officer during an Indigenous uprising. In other words, these powerful and influential colonial representatives wore the actual clothing and cultural property of the societies that they were actively working to eradicate.

Professional studio portraits as well as the archival documents and object collections of Hayter Reed, now preserved at the McCord Stewart Museum, provide a wealth of clues to the provenance and history of many of these objects that are now part of Canadian museum collections.

Moderated by Jonathan Lainey

Sara Serban, Conservator

In adherence with the historically themed groups set out for Lady Aberdeen’s 1896 fancy dress ball, several guests appeared as real or imaginary “Indian” characters. Many of their costumes incorporated Indigenous-made garments and regalia collected by Hayter Reed, then serving as the Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs. Guests pieced together their ensembles with often-unrelated items, oblivious to the cultural and geographical inconsistencies in provenance. Objects were dismantled or altered to be repurposed in the creation of a grotesque pastiche of “Indian”-ness. The conservation process to prepare for this exhibition involved an in-depth examination of components used in several costumes known to have been worn by some of the guests, as well as the identification of objects not previously connected to the ball.

Moderated by Jonathan Lainey

Guislaine Lemay, Curator, Material Culture 

Several years ago when doing some research in the Notman Photographic Archives, I came across two photographs of a man dressed for an 1865 costume ball in an outfit composed of various Indigenous creations, including an iconic headdress that is now part of the McCord Stewart Museum’s collection. These images were the impetus for a fascinating investigation of the headdress and the historical figure associated with it. The history of this object, from its creation to its inclusion in the McCord Stewart Museum’s collection, includes a series of revealing gaps. This culturally significant Indigenous object became, in turn, a collector’s item, then a costume accessory and vehicle of nationalist propaganda. Examined from the perspective of both reality and myth, it is an eloquent reminder of the colonial mindset focussed on the oppression, exclusion and dispossession of First Peoples and the appropriation of their cultures and struggles in order to legitimize a national myth.

Moderated by Jonathan Lainey

Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii), Andrew Stobo Sniderman, Co-authors, Valley of the Birdtail

Hayter Reed is probably the greatest villain in Canadian history you’ve never heard of. Who was this man, and what does his story mean for this exhibition (and our country)? Join authors Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) and Andrew Stobo Sniderman for a discussion about their acclaimed book, Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation. This book follows multiple generations of two families, one white and one Indigenous, weaving their lives into the larger story of Canada. Hayter Reed is a central character in the story, which includes an unforgettable scene from the historical costume ball held in Ottawa in 1896.

Cynthia Cooper, Head, Collections and Research, and Curator, Dress, Fashion and Textiles, holds an MS in Historic Costume and Textiles from the University of Rhode Island. Her research centres dress and fashion that have become entangled with Canadian identity projects, ranging from nineteenth-century fancy dress and court dress to twentieth-century children’s coats and regional tartans.

François Vallée, Head, Exhibitions, has led the team since 2023. In addition to supporting his department’s activities, he helps develop the Museum’s rich and varied programming. Since joining the Museum in 2019 as a project manager for exhibitions, he has overseen several exhibitions on a variety of topics. He holds a BA in history and an MA in museum studies from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).  

Caterina Florio, Head, Conservation, joined the Museum in 2021 as the Head of Conservation. Prior to this she was the sole Textile Conservator at the Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, Canada. Preceding her institutional positions, she gained extensive experience in the private sector as conservation consultant both in Canada and Italy. She guest lectures on textile conservation and preventive conservation at Queen’s University. She is a member of the Canadian Association for Conservation-Reconciliation Working Group (CAC-RWG), she was recently asked to join Ethics Committee of the Canadian Association for Conservation. She has been sitting on the Board of Directors of North American Textile Conservation Conference since 2017.

Jonathan Lainey, Curator, Indigenous Cultures, has a background in anthropology and an MA in History from Laval University. His research interests include the social, political and cultural history of the Indigenous Peoples of Quebec and Canada as well as the history of objects and collections over time. Jonathan is a member of the Huron-Wendat Nation of Wendake.

Zoë Tousignant, Curator, Photography, holds a PhD in Art History from Concordia University and an MA in Museum Studies from the University of Leeds. As a researcher and curator, she focusses on the production and reception of photographic culture in Quebec and Canada.

Rebecca Basciano is Chief Curator at the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG), where she supports artistic practices through curating exhibitions, publishing catalogues, acquiring works, and facilitating touring exhibitions. Her most recent curatorial projects, which employ strategies of inclusion and diversity, have offered counter-narratives and examined the intersection of historical and contemporary art.

Chun Hua Catherine Dong (she/they) is a Chinese-born Tiohtià:ke/Montréal-based artist. Dong’s work has been exhibited at many national and international venues. A finalist for the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec Contemporary Art Award in 2020, Dong received the Cultural Diversity in Visual Arts Award from the Conseil des arts de Montréal in 2021, and was long-listed for the Sobey Art Award in 2024.

Laura Dumitriu, Senior Photographer, is in charge of photographing objects from the collection for documentation and dissemination purposes. Since joining the Museum in 2016, she has contributed to twenty or so exhibitions and several catalogues. She has developed expertise in digitizing and digitally restoring glass negatives, as well as preparing images for printing. She holds a diploma in photography from Humber Polytechnic and a certificate in journalism from Concordia University.

Elysa Lachapelle, Project Manager, Education, Community Engagement and Cultural Programs, creates mediation activities to make exhibitions more accessible to all types of audiences. Since joining the Museum in 2020, she has used her interest in families as a target museum audience to develop her expertise by designing tours and activities especially for them. She earned both a BA and an MA in art history from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

Stéphanie Poisson, Head, Digital Outreach, Collections and Exhibitions, has developed digital production expertise to create immersive exhibition experiences both in the galleries and online. She has coordinated several groundbreaking, large-scale digital projects, which involve digitizing objects, making them accessible online, and creating distribution platforms. She holds a BA in art history and an MA in museum studies from Université de Montréal.

Sonia Kata, Conservator, specializes in costumes and textiles, has a BA in Art History from the University of Guelph and holds an MA in Conservation, Artifacts Specialization, from Queen’s University. She belongs to, and volunteers with, the Canadian Association for Conservation (CAC) and is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Conservators (CAPC), with an accreditation in textile conservation.

Caroline Bourgeois, Conservation Assistant, specializes in the design and production of museum-quality mannequins. She studied dress design at Collège Marie-Victorin, set and costume design at the National Theatre School of Canada and museology techniques at Collège Montmorency. A costume designer in the performing arts for many years, she joined the Museum team over 20 years ago.

Camille Lafrance, Junior Conservator, holds a B.A. in Historical Sciences and Heritage studies from Université Laval, and a master’s in Textile Conservation from the University of Glasgow. Since her graduation, she worked as a textile conservator in Montreal before joining the City of Calgary as the new Public Art Associate Conservator.

Amelia Desjardins, Conservation Technician specialized in costume mounting, holds a MLitt in Dress and Textile Histories from the University of Glasgow. Her strong interest in fashion history is complemented by her practical experience in costume construction. She particularly enjoys the creative challenges of designing custom mounts and mannequins, researching the various materials used and developing techniques for the safe display of garments and textiles.

Sara Serban, Conservator, loves to research and physically explore the materials and stories behind the objects in our collections. She holds a Master’s in Art History from Concordia University and a Master’s in Art Conservation from Queen’s University.

Guislaine Lemay, Curator, Material Culture, joined the Museum in 1992, working primarily with the Indigenous Cultures collection. She studied anthropology and archaeology and holds an MA in ethnohistory from Université de Montréal. In 2019, she was named Curator of Material Culture, a collection created following the merger of the McCord Museum and the Stewart Museum.

Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) is Beaver Clan, from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation. A Fulbright Scholar, he now holds the Prichard Wilson Chair in Law and Public Policy at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Professor Sanderson has served as Senior Advisor to the Government of Ontario, in the offices of the Attorney General and Aboriginal Affairs.

Andrew Stobo Sniderman is a writer, lawyer and Rhodes Scholar from Montreal. He has written for the New York Times, the Globe and Mail and Maclean’s. He has also argued before the Supreme Court of Canada, served as the human rights policy advisor to the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and worked for a judge on South Africa’s Constitutional Court.