Call for Proposals: Making – Meaning – Memory: A Sewn In America Symposium

The DAR Museum in Washington, DC, invites proposals for our annual symposium on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2, 2024. This year’s theme will explore the vast subject matter of sewing in America, both past and present introduced in the DAR Museum’s exhibit, Sewn in America: Making – Meaning – Memory. 

This groundbreaking exhibit combines sewn items from all textile sections of the DAR Museum’s collections: clothing, household textiles, quilts, and needlework. It examines the role sewing played both practically in American women’s lives, and in shaping gender roles, whether domestically or in professions from dressmaking and tailoring to factory work. Garments, quilts, and embroideries from the 18th century to today are juxtaposed to show how women of diverse backgrounds have used their needles to express emotions and identity and as a force for benevolence and justice. Session proposals should focus on connecting textiles with the main themes of the exhibition: the all-consuming process of sewing, sewing to communicate identity, process emotion and preserve memories, and sewing as a means of support for justice and benevolence. and does not need to be tied to a specific historical timeframe. 

Proposals should incorporate an element of decorative arts or material history. This symposium is open to all mediums, including but not limited to: quilting, samplers, needlework, costumes and other textiles.

Each session will be 50 minutes in length: 45-minute presentation with a Q&A session and will include a stipend.

Previous symposia have brought in speakers and attendees from across the country and included museum professionals, academic professors, and independent researchers.  We look forward to an equally diverse group of presenters for this symposium.

Specific Topics of Interest:

Making: Samplers and other methods of learning to sew
Influence and implications of technology and sewing
Communal sewing (social, religious, charitable groups)
Professional sewing (custom, factory, or otherwise)
Textiles as expressions of identity 
Emotional aspects of sewing 
Clothing and textiles as expressions of opinion or politics 
Textiles as a medium for stories and memory-keeping
…and other topics related to the exhibition themes and sewing in America, 1700-present

Guide for Submission

The deadline to submit proposals is Sunday, May 12, 2024

To submit your proposal, fill out the online form here: https://forms.gle/sgG9VaxJGaJLmSdc8

The submission should include:

Your name, phone, email, and mailing address
Your title and organizational affiliation (if applicable) 
Title of session
300-500 word abstract that states the topic of the session, summarizes the content, and emphasizes the relevance to symposium attendees. Include the types of sources used in your research. 
Indicate any speaker fees or travel accommodations you are requesting (if any) 

NEW THIS YEAR:

There will be a new category for student (both graduate and undergraduate levels) presentations. 

To submit a student proposal, fill out the online form here: https://forms.gle/tubjmXqHPQXszxYK7

The above guidelines apply.

These presentations will be 20 minutes in length, with a Q&A session, and will include a small stipend. 

ALL proposals will be juried and accepted based on their relevance to the symposium theme, usefulness to the attendees, and strength of the written abstract. The museum aims to welcome a diverse group of speakers with a variety of experiences and areas of expertise.

We look forward to seeing you on November 1 and 2!

Any questions please email museum@dar.org