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ExhibitionS



Where did Butterflies Land in Victorian Fashion?



William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park



As a part of Park Aide duties for this California State Park, co-curated an "image only" exhibition of 19th-century Victorian Fashion focused on butterflies. Researched, wrote, and designed didactic panels. Also included graphic design, production, and installation of exhibition panels, as well as interactive and engagement materials and handouts.


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Redding in the Roaring Twenties



Turtle Bay Exploration Park



CURATORIAL/EXHIBITIONS VOLUNTEER: On view September 8, 2021-January 16, 2022. Wrote didactic and interpretive text panels for fashion related sections. Assisted with historic research, object selection, and object research. Assisted with installation by dressing mannequins and styling wigs.


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Iconic Fashion Exhibit



Redding Fashion Alliance



CONSULTING CURATOR: On view September 8, 2021-January 16, 2022. Partnered with Aleta Carpenter, Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Shasta College Foundation and the Redding Fashion Alliance to research, curate and install the “Iconic Fashion Exhibit” at Turtle Bay Exploration Park & museum, on view September 13, 2019 – January 2020 as a part of Redding’s second fashion week. Research and wrote didactic and interpretive text panels about collector Aleta Carpenter’s clothing from the 1980s and 1990s by designers Chanel, Valentino, and Oscar de La Renta.


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Iconic Fashion Exhibit



Redding Fashion Alliance



DISPLAY COORDINATOR A one-night only "pop up" exhibit and event held during Redding's first Fashion Week on September 28, 2018. Local high end fashion collector Aleta Carpenter’s clothing was on display during a Q&A with Robin Fator. Prep included meetings, research, coordinating, and reviewing material. Assisted with clothing installation as well as managing safe public viewing of individual garments and off-the cuff discussions of history, techniques, construction, and materials. Included an on-camera interview on the history of fashion and its importance to culture.


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Material Culture: Form, Function, Fashion (and more)



Turtle Bay Exploration Park



CO-CURATOR along with Julia Cronin and Amanda Kramp. Joined staff curatorial team to develop, research, write, edit and install the exhibiton viewOctober 21, 2017-January 7, 2018. Utilized expertise in fashion and textile history community building and networking skills, brainstorming and time management skills.


From everyday things like your backpack or your bath towel to specialty items such as parachutes or fiberglass, textiles are everywhere. Explore the stuff we wear, sleep under, sit on, and use to insulate our homes. How can cloth stop a bullet? Can you tell synthetics from natural fibers? What’s the difference in how a Persian rug and a Navajo rug are made? Pound for pound, which is warmer wool or polyester fleece? Focusing on Turtle Bay’s rich collection of textiles, this touchy-feely exhibition goes back into pre-history takes a journey down the Silk Road examines the roots of the Industrial Revolution looks at the concept of fashion and takes a peek at the future of fabric.


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Rooted in this Land: The Story of Growing Food in Shasta County



Turtle Bay Exploration Park



CURATORIAL COORDINATOR Outreach, interviews and relationship building with key contacts (Historical Societies, farming and ranching industry leaders, and industry association groups) followed-up on leads for stories, and historical artifacts, researched digital and in-print resources to provide foundation information used to create label text, over-arching exhibition organization, and call-out elements. Required extremely efficient time management, strong organization skills, creative research strategies, and working collaboratively in a team environment.


Of Heather's work, curator Julia Cronin said "There would be NO SHOW without you!! Seriously. You are the best ferreter out of information and stories out there. I would have been crippled without your efforts though this whole process."


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Native Baskets from Northern California



Turtle Bay Exploration Park



RESEARCH COORDINATOR Assisted with research, exhibition development, and editing exhibition text panels. Co-wrote catalog text with curator Julia Cronin. Additional curatorial and exhibition tech work as assigned.

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50 Costumes/50 Designers



Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences



Assisted with exhibition preparations and accompanying catalog for Fifty Designers/Fifty Costumes: Concept to Character (UC Press, 2005), at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Dressed mannequins, wrote and edited copy, and assisted with the show’s travel preparations.


Personality and Style: The Fashion Career of Natacha Rambova



Phoenix Art Museum



GUEST CURATOR: Based on research completed for my Masters thesis from NYU, guest curatated this exhibit on view from September 11, 2004 to February 6, 2005. Wrote all didactic material, labels, and text panels. Worked with curatorial and registrar staff to execute exhibit. Dressed mannequins and assisted with the installation. Included two lectures.


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Beauty, Prestige, and Power: Textiles and Costume from the Permanent Collection



deYoung Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco



As a volunteer, worked with curatorial department to research objects, wrote and researched catalog entries, researched donor histories, assisted with exhibition and installation.

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Wild: Fashion Untamed



Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute



WILD: Fashion Untamed presented a historical and crosscultural examination of man's obsession with animalism as expressed through clothing. As an intern at the Costume Institute, assisted with image, editorial, and archival research for the exhibition and accompanying publication. Researched information on designers and specific objects to be included in the exhibit. Searches involved magazine, book, photo, special collections and object research within the museum. Utilized skills in organization, working quickly, and thinking creatively.

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Goddess: The Classical Mode



MEtropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute



From the clothing of ancient Greece to such modern evocations as Madame Grès's emblematic creations and Versace's Neoclassical loincloths, classical dress has profoundly inspired and influenced art and design over the millennia. As an intern, assisted in the preparation and dressing of mannequins.

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Seventh Avenue: Fashion Walk of Fame



Hirsch & Associates Fine Art Services



As an exhibition assistant for Hirsch & Associates Fine Art Services, assisted with fabrication, installation, and construction (using archival materials and methods) and related tasks for the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Seventh Avenue: Fashion Walk of Fame exhibition (September 2003), Fashioning the Modern Woman: Couture & Culture in Paris, 1919-1939 and symposium (Sept-Feb), as well as on various projects for JP Morgan Chase, Temple Emanu-EL and others. Assisted with execution of inert display techniques for various media including works on paper and canvas, textiles, sculpture, photographs, and related media. Also assisted with general office tasks and shop work. including framing, hanging, book mount making, as well as cutting and scoring Plexiglass.

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Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century



Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute



This exhibition focused on dress and its aesthetic interplay with art, furniture, and the broader decorative arts between 1750 and 1789. As an intern, I provided some assistance with the installation.

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Heather Vaughan Lee