FALL INTERNSHIP CHECK- IN

 Internship Check-In |  Annie McCarron

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The pandemic has impacted our education experience in ways we could not have imagined. In these tough times with restrictions, budget cuts and availability, many of our journeys have not been what we anticipated at the beginning of our museum studies education. Summer internships were virtually non-existent, and many of us had to scramble to fill course requirements. Luckily, some of our cohort were able to move internships to the fall, and gain valuable experience in this new work from home environment. This week, I talk to Leora Bromberg and Lauren McAusland about their internships, imposter syndrome, and how they are faring working from home during the pandemic.


Lauren McAusland is working as the Interpretation Intern at the Royal Botanical Gardens.


AM: What is your current internship position and how did you go about getting it?


Lauren McAusland: As the interpretation intern, I am part of a small team that has one FT interpreter and a contract interpreter. I have worked a few different positions at the garden. I worked last summer to research the history of the garden and do public programming around their history, to bring a historical perspective to programming that focuses heavily on biology and botany. I found out about the internship through a former colleague who urged me to apply. 


AM: What are some of the jobs you are completing in this role?


Lauren: I am developing content for their new online learning platform. Every week we put out two videos, a kids activity, a worksheet, and something directed towards adult learners. My specific jobs differ from week to week depending on what I am assigned. I also assist with programming events. I work from home to develop the online learning content, and do event prep. When the events are actually going on I do get to be on site. I am currently assisting with the Pumpkin trail, which is 300 carved jack-o-lanterns along a forest path, with interpreters stationed throughout to talk to people. I get to be a Pumpkin Scientist! A personal highlight for me is seeing how amazed kids are when they find out that pumpkins float!


AM: What subjects does the content you are developing cover?


Lauren: There is some history content but it is mostly botany. My undergraduate degree is in history and biology so I have a broad subject base which is great for working at the Botanical gardens.


AM: What have you found most challenging in your internship role? Have you encountered any difficulties working from home?


Lauren: Juggling multiple things in the same space can be challenging. Hard to sort school, internship, work-study, and my other job. Setting boundaries of what time is devoted to work and school and sticking to them is crucial. Its Important to remember that this is new for everyone, us students but also professionals who have been in this field for a long time! Before I could just walk by someone's desk if I needed clarification, and at first I felt bad having to send so many emails, but we are all learning and even seasoned museum professionals have had to make changes to how they work.


I also struggled a bit with imposter syndrome and undervaluing my skills. For the online programming, part of it is editing videos, which I have experience with but would never consider myself an expert, I just know from playing around on my own. At the gardens though only one other person knows how to edit movies, and now I edit my own and even help out my colleagues. It was a pleasant surprise at my own skills, and I would never even put it as a skill on my resume before but now I would! It's important not to undervalue your skills. Here is a video Lauren did about Sticky Seeds


AM: What are you excited to accomplish in your time as an intern?


Lauren: I am excited to get the opportunity to write text panels for holiday programming which I have never done before. I also want to work in the arts and culture sector so I appreciate the valuable programming experience.

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Leora Bromberg is completing her internship in the role of Education and Outreach Intern at the Bibliography and Print Room at the Robertson Davies Library at Massey College.


AM: Tell me about what your internship role is, and how you came about getting the position:


Leora: I am completing my internship as the Education and Outreach Intern in the Bibliography and Print Room at the Robertson Davies Library at Massey College. This position runs in partnership with the Book History & Print Culture Collaborative Program which I am a part of. I started volunteering in the print room in January of 2019. I have always been intrigued by the work, but was intimidated by the space at the start of my masters. However, as soon as I took the plunge and started volunteering, I fell in love with the work, and for the next year I applied to be a printing apprentice and teaching fellow, a position that acts as a representative of the book history program in the print room. Due to the pandemic this apprenticeship opportunity dissolved but I wanted to continue my involvement in some way, and through my previous connections was able to arrange an internship there to further my work with the printing presses.


AM: What is one of your favourite aspects about working in the print?


Leora: As part of my work in the print room, I have been working with and reviving the Hebrew Type Collection, and have been wanting to make an exhibit highlighting this revived collection, as a way to promote it and share its fascinating story. My internship has evolved, with the exhibit as a secondary component, and my main responsibility right now is assisting the print room with building their online presence. I currently help with video tours and printing demonstration series, as they are working towards adapting their content to an online format. The print room is like a maker space for the 19th century library. While technically a library, the space feels like a museum because there are tours and they are preserving the artefacts — like a living history site!

AM: What have you found challenging about this experience?


The aspect of video production, I had not anticipated having to edit videos as part of this internship, but due to the overwhelming nature of COVID I stepped into a video editing role but it’s been a good challenge.


I also initially experienced imposter syndrome. Writing the big script for the video tour of the printing room that two experts in printing would be going over, I doubted my experience, and felt I did not have enough knowledge to write. Through this experience, I ended up realizing I knew a lot more than what I thought, which is cool, and the experience allowed me to identify what I didn’t know and fill in the gaps.


AM: Any advice for future people in your role?


Leora: You know more than you give yourself credit for! And don’t be afraid of what you don’t know, part of this experience is learning on the job. Be open minded to learning new things, don't doubt your knowledge or abilities. I think of myself as a student, but I realized that students are knowledgeable. When I talked to the experts and the print room they even said they wouldn't even use the term expert to describe themselves, because you should always be learning.


AM: Tell me a bit more about the Hebrew Collection that you are working with.


Leora: It’s called the Balinson Hebrew Type Collection but it is actually a Yiddish type collection. You can tell there were letters that were more used in Yiddish. Elongated aleph which is heavily used in Yiddish. It also highlights a history of Yiddish printing within Canada. This position has made me want to pursue future studies in Yiddish. Yiddish is considered a dead language, but it is seeing a huge revival right now in fringe communities. Duolingo is releasing Beta Yiddish in December!


AM: What interesting facts have you learned?


Leora: I have tons of fun printing facts. One is that all the uppercase letters stored in the uppercase and all the lowercase letters are stored in the lower case on a shelf, and that is where we get the term from today!


Lead type is toxic. Type medal is an alloy made from tin, lead, and antimony. Both lead and antimony are toxic, but make the alloy strong. The etymology of antimony is interesting, it comes from the french word antimoine, which means monk-killer or anti-monk, because they died from consuming antimony that was in the ink


(If you are interested in more fun facts check out the video Leora made as part of her internship).

AUGUST INTERNSHIP CHECK-IN

Internship Check-In | Annie McCarron

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For August I got to chat with Jaime and Hanna, who are both completing their internships remotely from Toronto.


Jaime Meier is completing her internship with a Professor in the Drama and Performing Arts Department within the University of Toronto.


AM: Tell me a bit about the work you are doing for your internship this summer?


Jaime: My internship transitioned from a work study I completed in the fall. The Professor I am working with focuses on 17th century Indigenous and French relations in regards to performance. I have done a lot of work with 17th C. Indigenous accounts and explorers, so it tied in well with my knowledge. The Professor had grant money to go to Paris and do research in the archives for a book. Due to COVID19 we had to make changes to our summer plans so this summer has been finding other things to do. Instead of cancelling the internship my supervisor has found other things for me to do. A lot of my work has been with copyright and image permissions which is something that I wanted to learn about. Having worked in museums before, when they are developing exhibitions I have heard about the challenges around image permissions and rights, and the price of using these images. This summer I have been trying to figure out what images to use, working with different institutions across the world. It has provided me with a case study in copyright and permission in different places. In Canada and the U.S. it can be very expensive, from $60 to well over $100. In France and the U.K. it is more like 5 euro/pounds or no licensing fee at all. It's been interesting to see how they treat academics. In Europe, even though it's commercial, they know it's for use in something academic and for the public so they charge less. They just want a small amount to keep their institution going or a free copy of the book with the images in it when the professor is done and that’s all they expect. I have looked at images from institutions in Toronto that the rights are well over 100 dollars! My supervisor gave me a list of images but I have gotten to help curate the final selection for the book, I help to decide which ones end up in the book and where they go. If it will be a full image, or in black and white or in colour. I have a great supervisor who trusts me.


I have also done a lot of transcription work, taking French documents and writing them up. It's really strange looking at old French from the 17th c. it's really different, it can sometimes look like typos but I just transcribe it as I see it. It's been great also working on my French skills as I have always wanted that experience.


AM: What’s something useful that you have learned from your internship? 

Unicorn of the Red Sea, n.d. Photo courtesy of  Louis Nicolas Life & Work

Jaime: I liked hunting down an image and almost negotiating for the rights. I think this skill will help me with my work with museums. I know copyright can be really stressful and I did not have a lot of experience in it, but now I feel a lot more confident when people ask me what they can do with certain images. Even for my own work, knowing the limits of what you can do with an image is extremely useful.


AM: What is the main focus of the images you are researching?


Jaime: We are doing research looking at Indigenous performance and ceremonies, how it has been recorded by Jesuit missionaries, and how it has influenced European forms of dance. We have been working with members of the Haudenosaunee community to make sure we are not crossing any boundaries since we are talking about their ceremonies and we don't want to include anything that we shouldn't. We ran into this issue where we almost included a sacred ceremony that they did not want included, because it was never supposed to be recorded. So we have taken that out and we are working with the community to see what they want. The last thing we want to do is perpetuate what the Jesuits did and just record anything and everything.


AM: Do you have any  interesting images you have found through through your research you can share with us?

Jaime: Unicorn of the Red Sea by Louis Nicolas. The context is when he was in "New France" the Jesuit Missionary Louis Nicolas recorded hundreds of animals and plants and then threw in a unicorn, and claimed to have seen the unicorn with his own eyes!

AM: Have you encountered any challenges in your work?


Jaime: I find working from home extremely challenging, I like being able to work from a different space or with someone else. It's nice that I have flexible work hours, but it's hard to stay focused at home because you can’t escape other work and chores. I also miss the camaraderie of office spaces. My supervisor is amazing but it would be nice to see people everyday and check-in.

Hanna Schacter is currently doing her summer internship at the Ontario Jewish Archives and the Neuburger Holocaust Education Centre.


AM: Tell me a bit about the work you are doing for your internship this summer?


Hanna: I am working for two institutions, the Ontario Jewish Archives and the Nueberger Holocaust Centre. I have been working on three different projects, one for the Ontario Jewish Archives and two for the Holocaust Centre. I am enrolled in the Collaborative Specialization in Jewish Studies, and as part of those requirements I needed to do my internship at a Jewish Institution. I had solidified an internship in early March, before the pandemic and luckily they were able to keep me as an intern.


For the Ontario Jewish Archives, I am working through creating a digital version of their Stories of Spadina Walking Tour. The tour has been run for over 40 years since the 1970s and tells the Jewish History of Kensington Market and the early settlement of Jewish people in Toronto and the surrounding areas. I started by reviewing the content of the tour, as well as looking at other digital tours to see what was out there and what would work for us. I got to interview the 5 amazing tour guides who have been doing the tours for years. I had a list of questions that I asked to gain their insight. From there I took all that information and thought about the common themes. Then I developed what I think will work on the digital version. Now we are waiting for tour guides to write different sections of the stops and I have been going through the Ontario Jewish Archives and the Toronto Star archives to find pictures to go along with the digital stops. From my work this summer I discovered that I love working with archival collections and looking at old pictures.


For the Neuberger Holocaust Centre I am doing research on young professional programming. They currently have a great young professional program unlike any other institution, and I have been gathering information to see how other places have been handling similar programming during COVID19, and what sort of changes they have made to online.


For my third project I am doing some collection development for the Neuberger Holocaust Centre. They have plans to open a new physical museum in the future, so I have been going through their archives to see what exhibiting content there is that is useful, the interpretive elements available, and what common themes they cover. I am also researching other holocaust museums and what they cover, what pieces and artifacts they use to tell stories. This project has been more on hold because of COVID19, as I have not been able to talk to as many people and conduct the necessary research due to the pandemic.



AM: What are you most excited to accomplish?


Hanna: For my exhibition project in the fall I will actually be able to continue with the walking tour that I am doing and continuing working through it, it will be great because I get to see what it will become. I would love to do some user testing once the website is launched and also make some educational resources to go along with the tour. I have really enjoyed doing the research for it and finding the archival materials, I get really fascinated looking at old photos and I love Kensington Market too. It is a place that I have grown up going and now get to learn about the Jewish history of it too. It has been a home to so many different commutes and still is.



AM: Any advice for future people in your position?


Hanna: For anyone taking on a remote internship, I would say communicate — a lot. I regret not communicating more at certain times. I think also that you should never be afraid to ask for help! I have also learned more technical stuff about archives, and I have become a better researcher throughout this internship. I have had an amazing supervisor who is an archivist at the OJA. We have weekly calls checking in and seeing where I am at, she has been very helpful especially if I am unsure if something is useful or not, I will present to her and she will give me great feedback about my work.


AM: What skills have you employed from classwork?


Hanna: I took the User Experience for Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museum course and it is always in the back of my mind now, whenever I do anything for the public. Even at the start, doing research about different walking tours I am constantly thinking about the users, what are their needs, ease of use, site accessibility issues. I also took the Public Programming and Education course, where we learned about tours and the different elements to set up a tour. Certain questions to keep in mind: what are we learning here? What is our theme? These helped guide my research for the walking tours.


AM: Any interesting stories from the walking tours you would like to share? 

Augusta Fruit Market, August 1956.

 Ontario Jewish Archives, accession 2006-1-3

Hanna: The tour guides told me that everyone has a fish in the bath story. Before Shabbat people would buy fish and they didn’t have anywhere to keep it but their bathtub. Someone had a story where they were about to hop in the bath and there was a fish. I liked this story because I think it conveys the hustle and bustle of how Kensington Market is. Not sure how true the story is but it is something that has been passed along.

AM: What interesting facts have you learned?


Hanna: I have learned some interesting institutional history about organizations that the Jewish Community have established that still live on. On Cecil Street the Jewish old folks home was established in the early 1900s, which is now Baycrest Centre. Places have moved out of the Kensington Market area but are still going strong and serving the community. I have always felt that being Jewish you care for your community, and that was so true with everyone coming here to Toronto, and establishing themselves, and helping each other when they got here. These stories of care and serving the community are well documented within the archives.

INTERNSHIP CHECK-IN

Internship Check-In | Annie McCarron

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With all that is going on in the world right now, many of our summers have not turned out the way we originally planned. Usually, in the summer between 1^st and 2^nd year, MMSt students embark on an internship within a cultural heritage organization in order to gain hands on experience within their chosen environment. This year, with the restrictions in place, many opportunities were placed on hold or eliminated completely.  However, a few of my fellow classmates were fortunate enough to find internships to complete this summer in different aspects of the cultural sector. I recently sat down with two students from the 2021 cohort, Jessica and Alynese, to talk about their internships and how COVID-19 has impacted the internship experience for them.

Jessica Lanziner is currently doing her internship remotely as the Research Fellow at the Museum of Health Care. Knowing nothing about healthcare, she applied on a whim after LinkdIn creeping someone from her undergraduate degree, who she noticed had the position before.

Workplace set-up. Photo courtesy of Jessica Lanzier

Jessica: I noticed it said you don’t need to know anything about healthcare – I know nothing, but the internship was still going forward and it’s a stipend pay so I applied and got a call back which was awesome. It's not what I was planning, but it’s a huge research role, and I am learning a lot that I never thought I would be learning about. I had to apply to the fellowship with a topic, propose a research idea, and I figured let’s be timely and connect it to the current COVID-19 pandemic. I selected the history of PPE and Infectious diseases in Canada, looking at PPE and how it has evolved. Since I knew that museums would not be opening I proposed to do things entirely remotely.

AM: Where did you gain inspiration for your research topic?

Jessica: Like lots of people, I had been reading a lot during lockdown. I read the Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris, a scholar with a PhD in the History of Science, Medicine & Technology from the University of Oxford. I read her book and went off of that, listening to different talks and podcasts she had been on. She was on the Joe Rogan podcast, blowing his mind explaining the history of surgery. From this appearance she gained a large following. For my research proposal, I thought I will make it timely and do PPE and Infections, and explore the history of the use of PPE within Canada in regards to infections diseases.

Jessica’s current manuscript, titled after some reworking, is called “Histories of Personal Protective Equipment and Strategies in the Fight to Control Infectious Disease,” which once completed will be available on the Museum of Healthcare Website (where you can also see past Research Fellow Manuscripts). As a research fellow, Jessica is required to write a large paper at the end of her fellowship and create 4 blog posts about aspects of her research.

AM: What is your paper about?

Jessica: The history of different PPE and how it has evolved. The last chapter is on infectious disease outbreaks and how we have managed them in Canada using the history of PPE from before. My manuscript will look at Canadian responses to the 1918 influence, HIV, Tuberculosis, Sars, COVID-19. It's weird that I am currently living my research. For COVID-19, no archival materials are available so it’s all my own pictures and such.

AM: What have you found challenging about this experience?

Jessica: It’s been hard because I eat sleep and breathe pandemic. It's good and I have learned a lot but it makes me frustrated in my daily life. Stuff we have known to be science since the 1880s is not new or difficult! Because in their galleries they currently have vaccines and infectious disease information so it will be interesting to see how they will incorporate the stuff from this year.

AM: What interesting facts have you learned?

Jessica: [about] Respirators and disposable respirators. In the past, they had a similar issue to today with people being like my child is afraid of wearing masks, kids very afraid of gas masks so [the government] decided to make child friendly gas masks modelled off of Mickey mouse, that has ears and polka dots, and it makes them even more scary. They didn’t end up using them, there are still some in military archives, so they are hard to find but even more scary than a regular gas mask.

AM: Have you encountered any difficulties in your research?

Jessica: I have been conscious in trying to talk about how epidemics affect different racial groups in Canada, but I am only finding limited resources online. Papers just aren’t available for research online, it's hard to find diverse viewpoints about how historically pandemics affected minority communities in Canada. It's been frustrating, but that’s how it is with doing online research right now. Since I can’t go into the archives I have to rely on just what I can find online.

AM: Any advice for future people in your role?

Jessica: Not advice, but we all need to give more credit to those students who have spent their time doing those boring hours on long digitization projects, the only thing online saving us right now! Manual labour from cataloging students is really paying off for me right now.

AM: What skills have you employed from classwork?

Jessica: In our indigenous material heritage course, we looked at questions of who created this heritage and what does it mean for people to be using it who are from a different culture? I have been trying to follow the things from there and use broader viewpoints within my research.

AM: Anything surprising in what you have learned?

Jessica: I am learning a lot about copyright! I have had to deal with copyright and infringement, and that made me realize I wasn’t always doing it right before. I have learned how to actually get rights for images and reproduction rights, I’ve had to email a ton of places for certain images and I have become attached to having certain images! Some places like the city of Toronto allow you to use them for free for research if they’re online. I have been very attached to getting the correct photo rights!

Alynese Nightingale is interning at Lambton House Museum as an Archives Technician.

Lantern Slide/Glass negative from Lambton House Museum. Photo courtesy of Alynese Nightingale

AM: Tell me about your internship position.

Alynese: I applied in late April and didn’t hear back until June. I’m an Archive Technician – they merged two positions. I am by myself everyday, go in to do what I need to do, no one bothers me or anything. They usually hire two interns but only one this year —due to COVID-19 they have combined the positions. Since I am working alone I get to go into the office everyday. I am very lucky that the pandemic has not affected the daily roles of my job.

AM: What a day in the life looks like for you?

Alynese:  I am organizing collections so I like to start by going back and double checking my work from the pervious day for any mistakes. I don’t have concrete things I need to do everyday, I have creative control so I can choose what to work on. Today I finished cleaning out the archive room and started organizing collections which I will spend the next few weeks doing. I am helping the Lambton House Museum create a foundation for their archives, putting collection management policies in place, making finding aids so that museum workers can access things and researchers can come in. Doing that and getting it into an online database so it's all catalogued, they currently do not have accession numbers, so I'm creating a system for them that works and is easy for researchers and museum staff to navigate. I have been applying a lot of what I’ve learned in collections management from this past year.

I have always wanted to do collections so I was very excited for the opportunity when they were like “here are all of our collection things, do something with it!” In smaller museums sometimes collections are neglected for other more important things, and now I have time to focus on this and get it organized.

At the end of the week I do a report on what I did that week. I like the work because I can listen to music and podcasts! I listened to a lot of Dateline but it started to get too heavy so switched to Things You Missed in History Class.

AM: What is your favourite aspect of the job so far?

Alynese: Accessioning, going through and doing inventory reports, itemizing. I like seeing a new historical thing for the first time, it’s exciting to be the first person to see it.

AM: Is there anything that has surprised you about the job?

Alynese: I am surprised by how much control they have given me and how much they respect my opinion, not treating me like a student – they are treating me like an expert in the field and they are confident in the schooling and experience I have to do the job.

AM: What are you most excited to accomplish?

Alynese: I am most excited to accomplish organizing the collection. I am excited to create a concrete policy they can follow in the future, and have an impact on the organization and to be able to contribute a legacy to the future.

AM: What are some of the interesting objects you have found in the collection so far?

Alynese: Lots of photographs of the Humber River area and lots of cool photography glass negatives from the Kodak Archives showcasing the Humber River area, very cool. They have around 400 glass negatives or lantern slides showcasing very cool historic photos or paintings from the early 1900s. They are film negatives that layer onto a piece of glass and encased and can slide into a projector.  They cover scenes of the Humber River, paintings, children’s drawings on a project for pollution, houses in the area that students went and took pictures of, lots of different areas of local history that they have recorded.

Lantern Slide/Glass negative from Lambton House Museum. Photo courtesy of Alynese Nightingale

AM: Any advice for future people in your position?

Alynese: Keep a lot of notes and be really organized because it is easy to get confused! I have had plenty of times where I work on something and get disorganized and have to start over, so I have learned the importance of detailed notes!

The interviews have been edited for length and clarity. 

ADAPTING HISTORICAL DRESS FOR THE SCREEN

Sew What | Annie McCarron

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In a summer that was not at all as I had planned, I have turned to the comfort of losing myself in different historical TV shows and movies. From an early age, my mom instilled in me that a period drama equals comfort and escapism, and I have been privileged enough to allow myself to become absorbed in different time periods in between zoom classes and essays this summer. I have always been fascinated with the costume design of these movies and shows, and how it aids in storytelling. Costume designers work closely with directors to make their vision come to life on screen. Period pieces allow the viewer to see fashion of bygone eras in motion when they might not otherwise get the chance. Within the museum context, costumes are often statically portrayed, to emphasize that they are costumes and not real worn pieces.


Usually, I am someone who needs historical accuracy in costuming — I was often pulled out of the new Little Women movie by Greta Gerwig distracted by the lack of proper bonnets and head coverings — but sometimes historical inaccuracies can be beneficial for characterization.

Catherine and the ladies of the Russian Court. Still from the Great

These past few weeks my housemate and I have been watching Hulu’s The Great, by writer and

producer Tony McNamera (The Favourite). It is a satirical comedy about the marriage and rise of Catherine the Great, from outsider to Russia’s longest reigning female monarch. Loose with the facts and historical accuracy, The Great provides fast-paced, enjoyable escapism. The costuming is lush and evocative, with elements of modernity.

 

Catherine (Elle Fanning), wearing a Dior inspired coat. Still from The Great

Costume designer Emma Fryer kept the traditional European silhouette of the time that the Russian court copied, and spent lots of time in libraries and museums researching imperial dress. Fryer also mixed her designs with modern details such as incorporating fabrics and styles that were not traditionally used in the period, and drew inspiration from Victoria & Albert’s Exhibition on Christian Dior. This influence can be seen in the rich colour palette of the costumes, as well as in stylistic elements present in the series.

Catherine (Elle Fanning), still from the Great 

Catherine’s style evolves throughout the show. Fryer starts her off in pastels and soft lines, a contrast to the wider silhouette and rich jewel tones and winter fruit colours of the rest of the court. This is meant to highlight how different and naïve Catherine is compared to the rest of the court. The rest of the court ladies wear gaudy makeup, and off-centre wigs, highlighting their frivolity and vapid nature, and connecting them together visually separates them from Catherine. As Catherine starts to scheme and fit in at court her style starts to change; her colour palette becomes richer and her style more relaxed. She has become at ease in herself and assured of her enlightened views and manipulation of Peter.

Peter III of Russia (Nicholas Hoult). Still from The Great.

In contrast to Catherine’s light coloured outfits, Peter’s fashion is dark and unpredictable, much like his character. Portrayed as a mad king subjecting his court to his every whim, the costuming reflects this volatility. Usually dressed in the 18th century designs, Peter's clothes are often made of modern material and animal prints to play up his volatile nature and debauchery, with fryer saying she was inspired by the “crazy punk rock n roll look.” Here, the use of modern items and slight historical inaccuracies serves to remind the viewer that this show is not an entirely true story, but rather a satirical re-imagining.

Catherine in the final episode. Still from The Great.

Colour is an important tool used by costume designers to show connections and disconnections and to illustrate changes. Selecting the correct colour palette can enhance the story’s message. We have been socialized to associate certain colours with feelings and emotions; red for passion, yellow for happy, blue for sad. These are important to know while telling a story so that you can use them to your advantage, whether to follow their cues or to use these preconceived colour notions and flip them on their head.







Sometimes, bending the accuracy of costumes works well in engaging the viewer. Other times it can completely taint your opinion of a piece. Accuracy, or lack of, can greatly influence a viewing experience. Costuming inaccuracy can be done to enhance a story, or sometimes to appeal to current trends, as there are many historical fashions that modern viewers do not find appealing or sexy (long powdered wigs anyone?). 

Shows such as The Great leave me wondering how museums can bring the static displays of costume to life?

If you’re interested in reading more on this topic, check out the Costume Vault blog post on Historic Accuracy in Costume Design: The 16th century, where the author explores their own feelings around costume design in period pieces.