Current Exhibitions
LeRoy Neiman: A Keen Observer of Style
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LeRoy Neiman Exhibition Highlights Early Fashion Illustration Work LeRoy Neiman (1921–2012) was best known for his brilliantly colored, expressionist paintings and screen prints of athletes, musicians and sporting events. A new exhibition highlights his early, lesser-known work as a fashion illustrator and explores how it influenced his lifelong interest in capturing the clothing, gesture and style of his subjects.
A Meeting of Cultures: Fashioning North Africa
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The exhibition "A Meeting of Cultures: Fashioning North Africa" will be the first of its kind in the world to focus specifically on contemporary fashion designers and influencers in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.
Sparkle: The Style and Jewelry of Aileen Mehle Exhibiton
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In honor of the Kent State University Museum’s 40th anniversary, this exhibition pays tribute to Aileen Mehle, a friend of the museum founders and widely syndicated society columnist. The exhibition features evening dresses and jewelry from Mehle that will be displayed in the museum’s historic Higbee Gallery from July 18, 2025, through Aug. 23, 2026. Mehle, who lived from 1918 to 2016, wrote under the pseudonym Suzy Knickerbocker and enjoyed a career spanning five decades – from the 1950s until her final column in 2005, which she wrote at the age of 87.
Fashion Timeline
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Palmer and Mull Galleries | Sara Hume, Curator The “Fashion Timeline” showcases the Kent State University Museum’s world-class collection of historic fashions. Encompassing over two centuries of fashion history, this exhibition is designed to show the evolution of styles and silhouettes while contextualizing the pieces with relevant political, technological and cultural developments. While the display is a permanent feature at the museum, the individual pieces are rotated frequently so there is always something new to see!