August 17: Summer Present Box Exhibition With Maggie Evans

Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art Announces Summer Present Box Exhibition with Designer Maggie Evans.   Metamorphose: Maggie Evans - August 13�18, 2013

• Sewing Studio Hours: August 13�16, 11am�5pm
• Performance, Fashion Show and Reception: Saturday, August 17 6pm reception - 7pm performance & fashion show {free and open to the public}

met.a.mor.phose - verb- 1. undergo metamorphosis (of an amphibian or insect) 2. change completely in form or nature 3. revolutionize the wedding dress For dressmaker Maggie Evans, the design and creation of a wedding dress is collaborative. From August 13�18, Evans will transform BMoCA�s Museum Store into a collaborative sewing studio where visitors are invited to participate in the creation of a wedding dress. This Present Box exhibition includes a performance and fashion show on Saturday, August 17 debuting the dress created by Evans in collaboration with BMoCA visitors. With a background in psychology, Evans founded Maggie Evans Designs, a bridal dressmaking company, in Boulder in 2010. She is committed to working intimately with each bride through a process that incorporates client-centered psychotherapy into each customized wedding dress design. She views the dress as a cocoon. A woman steps into it as a maiden and out as a wife. Evans� interest in the psychological effect of this transformation inspires Metamorphose. The exhibition will transform BMoCA's Present Box into a collaborative sewing studio where visitors are invited to participate in the creation of a wedding dress. For the exhibition, Evans elicits the potential of the wedding dress to trigger a powerful series of human emotions and reactions not just in women, but in everyone. The dress becomes a vehicle for drawing out different emotions, thoughts, and behaviors not only about marriage, but also about rites of passage in general. The dressmaking process sets into motion deeper contemplations of rituals, commitment, and transformation. Over the course of three days, Evans will go through the entire process of fabricating a wedding dress from an initial watercolor sketch, to the muslin mockup fitted to the dress form, to the cutting and sewing of the dress, to completion. Visitors are invited to participate in the creation of the dress by writing their feelings and reflections directly onto the fabric. The placement and content of the written expressions will determine the design of the dress. The finished dress will be debuted in a performance art fashion show on Saturday, August 17. Additionally, Evans will teach a hand sewing technique workshop on Wednesday, August 14, inside her studio. Space is limited, and registration is recommended. Metamorphose plays on the potent symbolism associated with a wedding dress as an archetypical icon of love, union, and marriage. The exhibition relies on the dress� ability to signify something unique to every individual. Evans encourages us to view the wedding dress as a transitional object, one that helps us manage change and serves as a visual earmark for moments of personal metamorphosis. It is a tangible object of the experience of marriage�a vestige of a moment passed or one yet to come. For most it evokes a sense of nostalgia, for others it represents hope, anxiety, regrets, or love. Related Public Programs Workshop: Hand Sewn - August 14, 6�8pm - $14 / $12 members Explore the art of hand-sewing and enjoy a glass of wine with artist Maggie Evans in a workshop inspired by Metamorphose. Registration is limited. Please email [email protected] or call 303.443.2122 to register. About Maggie Evans Maggie Evans is a specialist in custom wedding dress design and alteration. She holds an MA in Transpersonal Psychology: Art Therapy from Naropa University and a BA in Fiber Arts from Western Washington University. In 2010 she founded Maggie Evans Designs, a Boulder-based business that fashions one-of-a-kind wedding gowns specifically made for each bride. About Present Box Launched in the summer of 2011, Present Box is a series of temporary exhibitions featured in BMoCA�s Museum Store space. Present Box exhibits innovative installations, performances, and events that last no longer than one week. These exhibitions present site-specific projects that foster interactive participation. Prior Present Box exhibiting artists include Adam Milner (2011), Teresa Booth Brown (2012), the bARTer collective (2012), and Vanessa Place (2013). Present Box exhibitions are always free and open to the public. About BMoCA Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA) is a catalyst for creative experiences through the exploration of significant art of our time.BMoCA is located at 1750 13th Street in downtown Boulder, Colorado. The museum�s hours are Tuesday�Sunday, 11am�5pm; closed Monday. Museum admission is $5 for adults; $4 for seniors, students, and educators. Free admission to the museum is offered to members and children under the age of 12. BMoCA offers free admission on Wednesdays from 4-8pm and on Saturdays from 9am-5pm during the Boulder County Farmers� Market. www.bmoca.org / 303.443.2122