Richard Martin Exhibition Awards recognize outstanding costume exhibitions presented by both small and large institutions. Award-winning exhibitions demonstrate excellence and innovation in the interpretation and presentation of costume, providing a transforming experience to both students of costume and the public. Up to two awards are given annually to exhibitions of differing sizes and funding.
The award-winning institutions each receive a certificate and a $750 award, funded by the CSA Endowment. A representative of each award-winning exhibition is invited to speak at the CSA National Symposium the following year and receives a $600 travel stipend and day-of-presentation registration fee, also funded by the CSA Endowment, to help defray travel and symposium expenses.
Richard Martin Exhibition Awards, first given in 2002, are named for Richard Martin (1947-1999), curator of costumes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Fashion Institute of Technology. An outstanding scholar, lecturer, author, and the curator of many critically acclaimed costume exhibitions, Richard Martin was a Fellow of the Costume Society of America, and served on its Board of Directors, as editor of CSA’s scholarly journal Dress, and as president of the Mid-Atlantic Region.
To be eligible for an award an exhibition must:
The Costume Society of America recognizes that exhibition size is not necessarily an indicator of excellence. It also acknowledges that large institutions with large exhibition budgets may have an unfair advantage over smaller institutions with less funding. In order to balance competition between exhibitions of differing sizes and budgets, up to two Richard Martin Exhibition Awards may be given each year.
Exhibitions will be evaluated on:
Nominations should be made by the CSA Member of the exhibition team and uploaded as one(1) pdf document under 100MB using this online submission form. A complete nomination document should include the following information in listed order:
1) A cover page with exhibition team’s contact information
2) A paginated table of contents
3) A brief description of the institution that presented the fashion exhibition, including a brief summary of the institution’s annual budget. Note, if a larger institution with multiple departments, please provide the annual budget for the department that generated the exhibition.
4) A written and visual walk-through of the exhibition, including no more than 20 images or photographs that give a sense of the exhibition as a whole.
5) A brief summary of the exhibition’s target audience, such as geographic location, age, racial and ethnic backgrounds, education level, interests, etc. If evaluations occurred, please include a brief statement of audience feedback.
6) A brief outline of the exhibition budget.
7) A brief description of the physical exhibition space, including a floor plan to scale.
8) A brief statement detailing the conservation methods used in the exhibition, including object care, mounting practices, gallery lighting and climate, and so on.
9) Label text, including all text if possible, but at least the major concept labels, subordinate labels, and several examples of object labels.
10) Include other material as desired, such as examples of catalogues, gallery guides, brochures, videos, or handouts, or information about related public programs and online content.
The nomination deadline has been extended to November 1, 2023. Nominees will be notified of the results by January 31, 2024. Award results will be announced at the CSA National Symposium. A designated representative of each award-winning exhibition is invited to present an overview of the exhibition at the following year’s CSA National Symposium.
Parachute: Subversive Fashion of the ’80s
Curator: Alexis Walker
McCord Stewart Museum
Montreal, Canada
and
Uncut Attire: How Weaving Informs Wearables
Curator: Addison Nace
Center for Design and Material Culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Commendation:
Venus & Diana: Fashioning the Jazz Age
Curator: Clare Sauro
Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection at Drexel University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Made It | The Women Who Revolutionized Fashion
Curators: Petra Slinkard and Paula Bradstreet Richter
Peabody Essex Museum
Salem, MA
in partnership with the originating curator Madelief Hohé
Kunstmuseum Den Haag
The Hague, Netherlands
and
Powwow! Ohcîwin the Origins
Curators: Patrick Mitsuing, Marrisa Mitsuing, and Kim Verrier
Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Commendation:
Engaging Communities, Empowering Students: Fostering Cross-Cultural Connections Through Dress, 1936-1958
Curators: Lynda Xepoleas and Emily Hayflick
Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection
Ithaca, NY
No award given
Contemporary Muslim Fashions
Curator in Charge: Jill D’Alessandro; Associate Curator: Laura L. Camerlengo
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
and
Power of Pattern: Central Asian Ikats from the David and Elizabeth Reisbord Collection
Curator: Clarissa M. Esguerra
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles, CA
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
Curator: Andrew Bolton; Assistant Curator: Mellissa Huber
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, NY
and
Queer Fashion and Style: Stories from the Heartland
Curators: Kelly L. Reddy-Best, Dana Goodin, and Eulanda Sanders
Iowa State University, Textiles and Clothing Museum
Ames, IA
Commendation:
Glamour on Board: Fashions from Titanic the Movie
The Biltmore Company
Asheville, NC
Fashioning Expo 67
Curator: Cynthia Cooper; Curatorial Assistant: Alexis Walker
McCord Museum
Montreal, Canada
and
The Biggest Little Fashion City: Ithaca and Silent Film Style
Curator: Denise Nicole Green
Cornell Costume and Textile Collection with Wharton Studio Museum
Ithaca, NY
Commendation:
Force of Nature
Curator: Melissa Marra-Alvarez
The Museum at FIT
New York, NY
Eyewear: Fashion with Vision
Curator: Anne Bissonnette
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
and
Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015
Co-curators: Sharon Takeda, Kaye Spilker, and Clarissa Esguerra
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles, CA
Native Fashion Now
Curator: Karen Kramer
Peabody Essex Museum
Salem, MA
Charles James: Beyond Fashion
Co-curators: Harold Koda and Jan Reeder
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, NY
and
Fashion Follows Form: Designs for Sitting
Curator: Alexandra Palmer
Royal Ontario Museum
Toronto, ON, Canada
Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair
Co-curators: Joy Bivins and Virginia Heaven
Chicago History Museum
Chicago, IL
Certificates of Commendation:
60 Years Designing the Ballet
Curator: Caroline O’Brien
The Design Exchange
Toronto, Canada
Tying the Knot: Cleveland’s Wedding Fashions, 1830-1980
Co-curators: Colleen Callahan, Susan Neill, and Newbie Richardson
Western Reserve Historical Society
Cleveland, OH
No award given
High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the Haute Couture
Co-curators: Kevin Jones and Christina Johnson
FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
Los Angeles, CA
Reveal or Conceal?
Curator: Cynthia Cooper
McCord Museum
Montreal, Quebec Canada
Certificate of Commendation:
Gothic: Dark Glamour
Curator: Valerie Steele
The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, NY
Late 18th & Early 19th-Century Fashion Series
Curator: Anne Bissonnette
Kent State University Museum
Kent, OH
Poiret: King of Fashion
Co-curators: Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton
Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Costume Institute
New York, NY
No award given
Modesty Died When Clothes Were Born: Costume in the Life and Literature of Mark Twain
Curator: Lynne Bassett
Mark Twain House and Museum
Hartford, CT
What Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America
Curator: Linda Baumgarten
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Williamsburg, VA
Fashion Stores of the South: Thalheimers, Miller & Rhoads & Montado’s
Curator: Colleen Callahan
The Valentine Richmond History Center
Richmond, VA
London Fashion
Curator: Valerie Steele
The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, NY
All Rights Reserved | Costume Society of America
Website powered by Neon One