Parsons School of Design will explore the intersection of clothing, ritual and spiritual practice in an exhibition that will have its opening reception on Thursday at the Arnold and Sheila Aronson Gallery at 66 Fifth Avenue in New York.
During the evening, visitors will experience three performances: “What does faith mean to you?” — an interactive performance led by Korina Emmerich, founder/designer of Emme Studio, followed by two pieces by the Gospel Chorus as directed by Charlotte Small from the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in the College of Performing Arts.
The exhibition seeks to enable visitors to better understand how faith and fashion shape identity, ritual and embodied experience.
You May Also Like
“We all wear clothing. We all have rituals. We all confront life’s biggest questions.” These universal touch points form the conceptual foundation of the exhibition, which invites visitors into a democratized space for dialogue on the relationship between dress, embodiment and spiritual practice.
Visitors will be invited to respond to the question, “What does faith mean to you?” and will use red markers to add their responses to a garment by Emmerich in the center of the gallery, conceptualized to be activated by the audience.
The exhibitors runs the gamut from fashion and textile designers to multidisciplinary designers guided by faith, to authors who explore faith and community engagement to a founder of a social impact brand to a Buddhist monk.
In addition to Emmerich, gallery exhibitors are Zeighn Abu Al, Patrick Boylan, John Brendan Guinan, Ayana Ife, Jontay Kahmakoatayo, Ahmril Lorraine, Patricia Michaels, Kodo Nishimura, Father Andrew O’Connor, Reyhab Patel, Yosel Tiefenbrun, and Taylor Uchytil.
Exhibitors in the corridor are Siamanda Chege (Bebe Ravi), Fiona Dieffenbacher, Hanan Hazime, Michelle Tonkin (Damcho), Jovana Mullens (Alivia), Sariah Park, and Shireen Soliman.
This event is made possible by school-based funding from Parsons’ School of Fashion and School of Design Strategies, along with a Culture of Care Award by the Provost Office at The New School.
