Photo credit: Michael McWeeney
Staten Island Mode: Identity, Memory, Fashion – the first major contemporary fashion exhibition on Staten Island – is a community-driven exploration of what people wear and why, in relation to personal and local identity. The exhibition is a visual and material manifestation of memories and experiences of Staten Island collected and commissioned by guest curators Jenna Rossi-Camus and Alexis Romano, who grew up on Staten Island.
Opening Day: July 29, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Opening Day Admission: Pay what you wish! $5-15 suggested | OPENING DAY TICKETS HERE
Exhibition on view: July 29-December 31, 2023
Gallery Hours: Friday – Saturday: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Sunday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art – Main Hall Gallery in Building C
Admission: $5 | Student/Senior: $4 | Snug Harbor Member: Free | GALLERY ADMISSION HERE
In a series of thematic installations of garments and photography, Staten Island Mode highlights dress as central to modes of being and practices of self-fashioning. The exhibition is not only a showcase of the variety and diversity of the dressed identities of Staten Islanders, but also the outcome of a curatorial experiment whereby a series of open calls for participation generated an archive of the unexpected that inherently addresses broader questions about what it means to be a Staten Islander and how perceptions and lived realities differ.
The exhibition unfolds over four rooms that adopt different approaches to collecting and interpreting dress – honoring individual stories as well as the presence of fashion design and retailing on Staten Island. The different spaces invite visitors to consider the role that dress plays in their own lives, and to reflect on the ways in which clothing is valuable in our closets, in our memories and in spaces devoted to the display of art and design.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog as well as a dynamic series of public events throughout its run from July 29 to December 31, 2023.
Staten Island Mode: Identity, Memory, Fashion is made possible through generous support from the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Staten Island Mode: Identity, Memory, Fashion is made possible by a DCLA Art Fund Grant from Staten Island Arts, with public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
