The Gregg Museum of Art and Design opened a new Pop-Up Gallery Lounge entitled “Art2Wear: Through the Archives” Tuesday. The exhibition is in partnership with NC State’s Art2Wear club, which hosts an annual student-led showcase that displays a variety of innovative, wearable art designs.
The gallery will include a vast history of archival looks, photos and repurposed art from over 20 years of Art2Wear shows.
Keerthi Nagapudi, a fourth-year in design studies and a co-director of Art2Wear, explained how the gallery provides a unique opportunity for the community to interact with the designs in an up-close, intimate way.
“There is such a rich history to Art2Wear, and we wanted to show that,” Nagapudi said. “In the lounge, you can see a timeline and a showcase wall that has pictures and descriptions about artwork from the very beginning to now.”
The lounge will promote a cozy, leisurely experience that invites visitors to take time to notice the intricate details that designers meticulously crafted.
“These collections and designs are so personal to the designer, and that being overlooked is tragic,” Nagapudi said. “I’m really glad they have a platform to shine.”
The idea for a partnership with the museum arose in tandem with the desire to further engage those at NC State and the greater community with Art2Wear.
When Sara Segerlin, the director of the Gregg Museum, began her role, she dedicated herself to making the Gregg a collaborative, community-centered space.
“The Gregg Museum is a nontraditional classroom for NC State students to explore subject matter in coursework to enhance learning and also cultivate projects,” Segerlin said.
Segerlin described the partnership between the Gregg and Art2Wear as mutually beneficial. The Gregg provides a space for Art2Wear to host their event in a nontraditional format while simultaneously accomplishing their own goal to foster learning and community engagement.
“I hope that this exhibition will promote Art2Wear and the College of Design to a broader audience,” Segerlin said. “I want the NC State community to feel celebrated and to have pride in the legacy of Art2Wear.”
On April 24, Art2Wear will host a live event entitled “Revive” at the Gregg Museum. This show challenges designers to reimagine traditional ideas into wearable art that can be presented creatively to an audience.
Lydia Spears, a fourth-year studying art and design, is a co-director of Art2Wear. She said the event encourages designers to expand the reveal of their collections past a fashion show and into an immersive story with elements such as choreography and audience interaction.
“This year we’re doing a more elaborate style, where the crowd goes through the museum, but the looks are placed throughout in minimal sets,” Spears said.
This creates a more dynamic show, where the nontraditional nature of the art matches the personalization that an abstract viewing experience provides.
“We’re trying to make our identity as a club not just about being a fashion show or an art show, but a mix between the two,” Spears said. “We wanted our designers to do something more noncommercial than a fashion show.”
Creating wearable artwork for a live event demands careful attention to many non-visual aspects. Designers must consider how to create breathable designs and select dynamic models in order to carry out a set between three and five minutes.
Elle Newkirk, a fourth-year studying environmental design in architecture and a designer for Art2Wear, has tackled the performance aspect of this year’s show by selecting dancers to model her collection.
“I was really excited when I heard that the show was going to be a different format this year,” Newkirk said. “The opportunity to do a live art performance in the Gregg instead of the runway has been really cool, especially in getting to work with my models.”
Newkirk spoke about creating a collection of three looks called “Palingenesis,” which incorporates the theme “Revive” by exploring how traditional Korean fashion is reinvented by new generations.
“In Asia, there’s a pretty big movement of young people modernizing their traditional wear, and I’m creating my own spin on that,” Newkirk said. “I’m exploring the little rebirths and deaths you go through as you continue to grow and learn, and each of the three looks represent a different aspect of that process.”
Each collection displayed at “Revive” will bring an entirely unique take on the theme, coupled with a performance set to reinforce their vision and immerse the audience into a night of creativity, appreciation and community engagement.
“Art2Wear: Through the Archives” at the Gregg Museum of Art and Design will be open to the public from March 4 through July 5. The live event, “Revive,” will take place April 24, also at the Gregg. Ticket sales for “Revive” will begin March 17. More information can be found on Art2Wear’s Instagram, @ncsuart2wear.
