[BCMA] Creston Museum: Irwin & the Retro Girls

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Irwin and the Retro Girls: Fashion + Art + History = A Must-See Exhibit

Creston Museum, June 18-July 9, 10:00 - 5:00 Daily

Meet the Artists: Saturday, June 18, 1:00 - 3:00

 

The Creston Museum created an exhibit on a locally-born man who was one of
the foremost fashion illustrators in Paris in the 1950s and 1960s, and an
internationally-recognised artist in his own right.

 

A group of four talented local artists decided to get creative with vintage
fashions gleaned from, well, Gleaners.

 

A family friend of the fashion illustrator was looking for an opportunity to
exhibit some of the illustrator's abstract paintings.

 

The local artists were looking for a place to show off some of their
creations.

 

So what happens when all those things come together? You get a full-scale,
head-on collision between art and history, that's what.

 

It's called "Irwin and the Retro Girls," and it's coming to the Creston
Museum on June 18.

 

"Irwin" is Irwin Crosthwait, born on a farm near the Columbia Brewery in
1915. He went on to art school in Montreal, joined the Navy in World War II
as the easiest way of getting to Paris, and soon began sketching clothing
for some of the most famous fashion designers in Europe.

 

The "Retro Girls" are Alison Bjorkman, Alison Masters, Andrea Revoy, and
Sandy Kunze. They are well-known for their creative ideas and eclectic
styles, but rumour has it that they've got even more creative and eclectic
with this one. As they say, it was "a little idea igniting like a
firecracker and exploding in a million directions."

 

"it's a fantastic meshing of a lot of things," says museum manager Tammy
Bradford. "One the one hand, we have a local man who created art for the
fashion world. On the other, we have local people taking fashions and
turning them into art. Add to that the local-history aspect of Irwin
Crosthwait's early life, and the fact that the Retro Girls are using vintage
clothing for their work, and you get a show that is perfect for the Museum
to host."

 

As it turns out, the Museum being  an ideal setting for this show is a very
good thing, because "Irwin and the Retro Girls" will, quite literally, be
taking over the Museum for the better part of a month.

 

"We were looking at some of the spaces at the Museum," says Retro Girl
Alison Masters, "and realised we had a lot more clothing to work with than
would fit in any of those rooms. So we were thrilled when the idea of a show
at the Museum morphed into the idea of a show throughout the Museum - our
pieces will be installed everywhere in the exhibit galleries."

 

It all starts on Saturday, June 18, with a chance to meet the artists. Irwin
Hobden will be on hand with a collection of Crosthwait's paintings; the "Art
of Style" exhibit which features Crosthwait's career fills one wall; the
Retro Girls have a few surprises planned; and some of the clothing they
found - and couldn't bear to modify - will be on sale.

 

The meet-the-artists event runs from 1:00 - 3:00 PM on June 18. The whole
exhibit, though, is open 10:00 - 5:00 daily from June 18 to July 9.
Admission is included in regular Museum admission.

 

For more information, contact the Creston Museum at 250-428-9262 or
crestonmuseum at telus.net.

 

 

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Tammy Bradford, Manager

Creston & District Museum & Archives

219 Devon Street, Creston, BC V0B 1G3

Phone 250-428-9262

www.crestonmuseum.ca

Find us on Facebook! <https://www.facebook.com/CrestonMuseum> 

 

 

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