Fashion Focus | Home

Featuring the portfolios and garment collections of both students and alumni of Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, “Fashion Focus | Home” explores the idea of home and what it means to the artist — from memories and reclamation to displacement. The collection is an addition to MMoCA’s existing multi-media exhibition, ”Home,” and is on display through Jan. 29. Regular hours are noon-6 p.m. Thursday-Sunday.

Holiday Hours: December 20–22: 12–6 PM; closed December 23-26 (note addition of Friday, due to weather); December 27–31: 12–6 PM; January 1: Closed.

press release: The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) will present Fashion Focus | Home, a special collaboration with the Fashion Design Department at Mount Mary University highlighting portfolios and garment collections designed and handmade by students and alumnae of the Milwaukee-based school. The collaboration was sparked by a broadcast news report about the university’s fashion design program, which prompted MMoCA to reach out with the school about a collaboration. 

The collections highlighted in the broadcast shared a common theme with the MMoCA exhibition Home—each reflects on memory, contemplation, and reclamation of home. The Mount Mary designers found inspiration in the places and people that define home for them, resulting in creations that not only transport viewers, but also promote greater understanding of belonging, origins, and even displacement.

In conversation, Mount Mary University and MMoCA developed Fashion Focus | Home. Central to the collaboration is course curriculum based on the concept of home developed by Assistant Professor Elena Pitts. 

"Mount Mary University is ranked one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the Midwest, and our students understand the importance of their cultural diversity, too," said Pitts. "Our designers use the lens of fashion to voice their unique perspectives and communicate their heritage and identities."

Mount Mary University Fashion Design graduates Asma Dasan, Anastasia Gouchtchina, Maka Muhidin, and Shoua Xiong are represented by their junior and senior collections as well as preparatory materials. Current students May Martinez-Gonzalez, Ro Storrs, Kailey Stout, and Leann Monika Wolf have shared their process books, presentation folders, and sketches illustrating their responses to home.

Says Anastasia Gouchtchina, who graduated in 2022 and is showing her collection Unorthodox Gold, “I was born in Belarus and moved to Wisconsin in 2000. My family worked hard with very little to live, and our comfort was our traditions. I grew up feeling embarrassed about things that made me different, but now I only see the beauty.”

Fashion Focus | Home not only provides an opportunity to reflect on the exhibition Home, it also reveals how deeply personal inspiration can be for artists working in all media. Moreover, it encourages viewers to consider the significance of the garments they choose to wear and how they resonate with individual histories and identities. The collaboration will be on view from December 17, 2022-January 29, 2023. Admission is always free at MMoCA.

ABOUT MOUNT MARY UNIVERSITY

Mount Mary University is rated the top institution in the Midwest for social mobility, ensuring that undergraduate women of all backgrounds succeed. Sponsored by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Mount Mary is a diverse and inclusive Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wis., committed to social justice through 50+ undergraduate majors for women and 12 graduate programs open to all genders. #IAmMountMary 

ABOUT MMoCA

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art offers free daily admission. Its vision is to be an organization that fosters the exchange of ideas and creates experiences that will inspire a wide audience; be a nexus for the work of emerging and established regional, national, and international artists; serve as a catalyst for the continued development of a vigorous community of artists; and provide a forum that will encourage people to be challenged by, reflect on, and make connections between art and the world around them.

The Museum includes four galleries, The Shop, a space to provide interactive contemporary art experiences and educational workshops to the community, and The Rooftop Lounge, a light-filled third-floor venue used for art pop-ups, refreshment service, and more. 

The Museum’s Rooftop Sculpture Garden provides an urban oasis with an incredible view which serves as a lovely venue for weddings, art openings, music, and cinema. MMoCA’s galleries are open Thursday-Sunday from 12-6 PM. Please visit mmoca.org to learn more.