Theatre Arts Faculty member Creates International Exhibit 'Shades of White'
Eleven gowns were constructed for the Society of Antiquary Lecture and were on display in the dining room of Berrington Hall. The gowns, with the addition of nine addition pieces, are featured in a new exhibit, "Shades of White: The Changing Shape of Women."
Nancy Hills, a professor in Utah State University’s Theatre Arts Department and the Caine College of the Arts, is making the most of her current sabbatical leave.
She’s designed costumes for “The Playboy of the Western World” and, most recently, “Blithe Spirit,” both for Artist Repertory Theatre in Portland, Ore. She’s travelled to Great Britain where, among numerous activities, she presented a public lecture at the Society of Antiquaries in London. The title of the presentation was “Historical Dress: a Project Inspired by Janet Arnold” and it featured recreations of gowns from patterns taken from Hills’ Janet Arnold research, and modeled by 11 USU interior design students. The gowns were constructed by USU Theatre Arts graduate students. Janet Arnold (1932-1998), the subject of Hills’ research, was a British clothing historian, costume designer, teacher, conservator and author.
The gowns have become well-traveled. They appeared in the exhibit “Symphony in White” from June 2014 through Christmas at Berrington Hall near Leominster in Herefordshire — this time appearing on dress forms. And now they are a part of a new exhibit, “Shades of White: The Changing Shape of Women,” that will be shown Feb. 14 through April 25 at the Hereford Museum and Gallery in Hereford. Hills has added nine pieces to the show that features reinterpretations of gowns from 1750 to 1950.
All the gowns — or dresses — are inspired by historical pieces from the Hereford Museum Resource and Learning Center and the Charles Paget Wade Costume Collection 1750-1954.
For anyone traveling to England before April 25, “Shades of White” can be seen at the Hereford Museum and Gallery on Broad Street, Wednesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. through 4 p.m. And, once there, the exhibit is free!
Hills will return to USU for fall semester 2015.
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Contact: Nancy Hills, nancy.hills@usu.edu
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