Sloan Mulloy, TR ’19, found a way to incorporate a special Nakanawa symbol into an exhibition for her graduate program. What may at first glance look like an ordinary pair of shoes holds a much deeper meaning for her. The exhibition was curated by the NYU Costume Studies’ Exhibition Praxis class. DIY Grrrl: Constructing, Disrupting, and Reclaiming Girlhood in the 1990s pairs archival material with contemporary works that demonstrate how girls and young women engage with do-it-yourself practices to form both personal and collective identities. According to Sloan, “From the beginning of this process, we as a team were always focused on the theme of girlhood and its expressions in material form. My memories from ten summers at Nakanawa helped shape this exhibition; during my Tent Row summer, I asked all my friends to sign my sneakers as a way to commemorate my last year as a camper. When we were first brainstorming ideas of what objects we wanted to include in our exhibition, I brought in a picture of my shoes to show the team. My professor fell in love with them and thought they embodied our ideas of girlhood and DIY, and our team decided they needed to be included in the show. I find it so special that these shoes were with me throughout the entire process of creating this exhibition, and they truly serve as a testament to Nakanawa’s role in the experiences of girlhood.” The display includes the description below:
Vans (1966 – present)
Signed Sneakers belonging to Sloan Mulloy, 2019
Cotton, rubber, plastic
Personal Collection of Sloan Mulloy
This pair of size 5.5 high-top sneakers features the signatures and drawings of nearly thirty teenage girls. Created over the course of a four-week summer camp session, the act of inscription transformed these shoes into a repository of their memories. Both a personal object in their own right and a historic relic frozen in time, this pair of shoes embodies collective memory, the desire for close-knit connection, and an expression of female friendship.
If you find yourself in New York City before March 7, you can visit the exhibit at 80WSE Gallery at 80 Washington Square E, New York, 10003.