We are launching our first ever Art Happens crowdfunding campaign at the Museum of London. We need your help to redress one of our most popular gallery displays, the ‘Pleasure Gardens’.
The 'Pleasure Gardens' our display of 18th and 19th century fashion needs redressing. The Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens first opened in 1661 under the name ‘New Spring Gardens’ and welcomed guests from all over London and the world. People would show off the latest fashions and trends by wearing the finest garments they could afford. With an immersive, atmospheric display, we have recreated that exciting environment in our galleries.
The display needs rotating due to the garments' age and fragility, and we plan to bring some of our most beautiful, previously unseen items from the Dress and Textiles Collection to reimagine the ‘Pleasure Gardens’ display. At the same time, we are preserving and conserving the current display’s delicate fabrics, so they can be displayed and researched in the future, for the generations to come.
We need your help to make this happen. You will be able to follow the journey of recreating this display, whilst enjoying some great rewards, including tote bags, special prints, and invitations to come and learn more about our collection and what goes on behind the scenes in our Dress and Textiles store.
The museum invites you to follow our Fashion Curator, Timothy Long (@TimothyLongFashionCurator on Instagram and @Fashion_Curator on Twitter) and Textile Conservator, Melina Plottu (@melinaplottu) to see some of these incredible items as they, along with other curators and conservators, begin to unveil some of our unique collection of 18th and 19th century clothing and accessories. As we crowdfund the money to redress the Pleasure Gardens, you can follow our curators as they select and conserve artefacts, develop the storyline for the new display, and construct the mounts. With your help, we can create an even better Pleasure Gardens and preserve London's fashion history for a new generation.
Thank you for helping us to #RedressPleasure! Your generosity allowed us to raise an amazing 127% of our funding target. The new Pleasure Gardens display at the Museum of London opens in spring 2018.
