The Kent State University Museum and the School of Fashion are preparing to “take flight” with a bird-themed exhibition that will open in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History on April 22, 2026.
The idea for the exhibition was inspired by museum curator Sara Hume’s 2018 exhibition, “For the Birds.” 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, serving as the inspiration behind Hume’s exhibition. The MBTA was passed in 2018 to protect bird species from being hunted.
“So, that was sort of the impetus for the exhibition, and then it sort of explored the ways that birds were used in fashion and decorative arts in general,” Hume said.
The exhibition was lined with fashion inspired by peacocks, ostriches, cranes, ducks, phoenixes and more. The focus of the exhibition was to explore what different birds meant to a variety of cultures.
The idea to collaborate with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has been in the works since the release of the “For the Birds” exhibition.
“It seemed like a really great exhibition to sort of talk about those relationships between us as a fashion museum and what natural history museums do, and the sort of ways of thinking about this exhibition as a natural history museum exhibition,” Hume said.
Museum Director Sarah Spinner Liska came to the museum in July of 2024 and said the previous museum director had shared the idea with her. Spinner explained how collaborating with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History can broaden how people think about fashion.
“We’re partnering with the History Museum, which I hope can really expand how people think about fashion and open up interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary avenues for exploration, for research and maybe even spark ideas for future exhibitions,” Spinner Liska said.
The Kent State Museum will be lending accessories and garments made of real feathers, paired alongside natural specimens of birds from the Natural History Museum. Hume shared that it gives a “look into the material of the feathers.”
Kent State’s School of Fashion students from the junior design studio class have also been given the potential opportunity to have their own designs featured in the exhibition. The students’ prompt for this assignment was to think about birds and the design of birds, but they were not allowed to use actual feathers. Each design by the student is inspired by a particular kind of bird.
“They have to think about this in terms of biomimicry and the function of feathers, and the beauty, and the design of feathers and the birds themselves,” Hume said, “They’re thinking more broadly about how feathers work and how birds are designed.”
Biomimicry refers to mimicking aspects of nature in human design. This means the students will have to mimic different aspects of birds by using human-made material.
Spinner Liska and Hume will both be working directly with the Kent School of Fashion faculty to critique and select which designs will be on display at the Natural History Museum. The lead faculty member of the project is School of Fashion assistant professor Daniel Fladung.
Spinner Liska and Hume provided the students with inspiration by having them come to the museum and see what items would be featured in the exhibition.
“It sort of gave them an opportunity to really do that sort of research with our objects, but then also do research separately,” Hume said.
Spinner Liska shared how having the students involved will help “push the boundaries” of the exhibition.
“I’m really excited to see how they kind of push beyond what we’re able to show, what the Natural History Museum is able to show and really thinking about each of their chosen bird,” Spinner Liska said.
The collaborative exhibition will be located in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s New Visitor Hall on the first floor of the museum.
Ava Drozd is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
