It’s our privilege to introduce you to the three graduate students who are working at the Avenir Museum in Fall 2018:
Courtney Morgan hails originally from Flagstaff, Arizona, and completed her B.A. in History with a minor in Museum Studies at The Colorado College in Colorado Springs. She is now pursuing the M.S. in Apparel and Merchandising here at CSU, and is interested in bridal design. Courtney is the Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant, currently working with Avenir Museum Curator/Assistant Professor Dr. Katie Knowles in the AM460 Historic Textiles class. Her projects at the Avenir over the next couple of years will encompass a wide array of topics; this early in her first semester, Courtney has already assisted with the Fall 2018 exhibit installations, jumped into ongoing collection inventory work, and helped to sort and accession an academic study collection of some 300 unusual and rare handkerchiefs.
In her own words: I’m so happy and excited to be here!
Kim Selinske is from Pasadena, California, and earned her B.A. in History & Political Science at CSU. She’s now a second-year graduate student in CSU’s Department of History, working toward the M.A. in Public History, with a concentration in Museums and Digital History. Kim’s current research centers on the women behind Walt Disney Animation through 1964, and she has been invited to present a paper on this subject at the ten-state regional conference of the Mountain-Plains Museum Association in Billings, Montana, in October. Kim is generously volunteering her time to the Avenir Museum to gain additional professional experience, working on graphic design for exhibit panels, helping with object accession records, and creating an inventory system for loose paperwork in the collection.
In her own words: I have spent the last year producing exhibits and front-end museum work for various agencies, so I am really excited to be working behind the scenes at the Avenir Museum to gain experience and hopefully be helpful in the collections.
Jessica Shaver is from Lakewood, Colorado, and holds a B.F.A. in Fashion Design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Returning to Colorado, Jessica is now an M.S. candidate in the Department of Design and Merchandising, specializing in apparel production and merchandising. For her thesis research, Jessica is investigating consumers who have purchased customized apparel from online retailers like eShakti, Frilly, and Sumisurra; her research objective is to examine how/if the behaviors and attitudes of mass custom apparel consumers may have changed as a result of the mass customization process – if you fit that consumer profile, she may be interested in hearing from you! At the Avenir Museum, Jessica is conducting an independent study to investigate how materials and construction techniques have changed from 1950-1990 by examining 11 objects from the collection, specifically women’s coordinated sets (including top and bottom). Additionally, comparisons will be made within decades by examining “high-end” and/or custom-made products next to more budget friendly brands/products.
In her own words: I have enjoyed getting to know the collection and hope to provide more in-depth information for the pieces I am examining to benefit the Avenir in the future.
The Avenir Museum is very pleased to have these emerging professional colleagues with us, contributing their time, talents, and scholarly appreciation on behalf of CSU’s historic apparel and textiles collection. Every museum task or research line of inquiry – some are arcane, some are mundane – is a vital contribution to advancing the Avenir’s mission. Thank you, Courtney, Kim, and Jessica!
