140
sustaInaBlE FashIon : a handBooK For Educators
ExhIBItIon plannIng
In addition to planning the development of the art
object(s)/installation(s), the students must determine the
layout of the exhibition overall, incorporating supporting
material as needed, as well as the roles and responsibilities
for the development of the exhibition itself. If funding or
donations of supplies are required to offset the expenses
of producing the exhibition, students handle seeking
support. During the latter part of the course, more time
is devoted to exhibition planning and the creation of the
installation. In doing so, students reach the third goal of this
course: to obtain a greater understanding of developing
and managing an exhibition.
The educator continues to function as curator, determining
and guiding the overall quality of the art and delegating
other responsibilities of the exhibition as well. These
include: exhibition announcement design, press release,
wall didactics, brochure design and essay. The students
will seek and obtain ongoing feedback from the class and
the educator regarding these elements. All the students
will participate in the actual installation of the exhibition
and will be expected to speak about her/his role at the
opening.
suMMary: class/ExhIBItIon FEEdBacK and assEssMEnt
The subject of globalization and labor in textiles is an
important and unheralded topic. Ideally it should be
included in the curriculum of any textile, clothing, and
design program. It is also relevant to students in other
areas, ranging from political science to women’s studies.
In fact two students from the UNL class presented a
well-received paper about the course at a women’s
studies conference held in Kearney, NE, in March 2008.
The conference theme was transnational feminism, which
related closely to the global nature of the textile and
apparel industry, and the conference provided a forum for
the students to focus on the course exhibition.
The course, as taught at UNL, has an optimal format
incorporating various modes of assimilating and expressing
information: reading, writing, discussion, and object
development - all of which enable students to gain
insight into global issues in relation to how garments are
manufactured and the experiences of the people who
make the clothes we wear, and to be able to express
resulting views and opinions. In addition, students gain a
better understanding of exhibition development. Due to
the nature of the course - its theoretical and exhibition
components - it is dense and fast-paced, and best suited to
a graduate program.Both at the close of the UNL class and four months later,
feedback was gathered from students. Based on both sets
of responses, the following conclusions can be made:- Students gained a much better understanding of the
complex relationship between the textile and apparel
industries and globalization. One student is currently
planning a small business using recycled garments rather
than relying on outsourcing labor. Others consider the
impact the consumer has on buying practices. Many
stated they have become more conscious consumers
due to their participation in the class. - Reading was the primary and perhaps best means of
acquiring new information. One student wrote in her
reflection on the week’s reading selection from The
Object of Labor, “Not only are textile manufacturers
taking advantage of employees, they are being forced and
encouraged to do so by the economic structures as well as
the trade options available”. - The dynamics and logistics involved in the object and
exhibition development could be “tedious”, as one
student put it, and overall challenging, but worthwhile.
No student stated it should be excluded from the
course format. Another student viewed the exhibition
as a means of “... increasing the public’s awareness of
the continued problems in the industry.” In addition, she
stated, “I feel that our class has made a step towards
improving the situation”.
Overall the class functioned successfully within its outlined
goals and, in conjunction with the resulting exhibition,
seemed to empower the students and provide a means of
dealing with complex problems without apparent solutions.
It is the goal of this paper to provide a framework
for other educators so that they may also inform and
empower their students.