Selected Past Exhibitions

Detail of first Vox Stellarum panel, 2007.

Elin Noble: Vox Stellarum

Monday, June 6, 2016 to Friday, September 16, 2016

Vox Stellarum or Voice of the Stars is textile artist Elin Noble’s response to an early eighteenth century copperplate engraving from the 1731 book titled Physica sacra by the Swiss natural scientist Johann Jakob Scheuchzer.

Closed for Renovation - Gallery Gets Major Makeover

Saturday, April 23, 2016 to Tuesday, May 31, 2016

The Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's East Campus recently unveiled a $35,000 renovation, including changes to the walls, display platforms and storage areas, and the installation of a new projection software system.

The gallery, located on the second floor of the Human Sciences Building at 35th and Holdrege streets, closed at the end of April for a month-long renovation that saw the removal of all of the carpet-like fabric wall covering, which was replaced with Sheetrock. The entire gallery was painted.

Canary Concepts and the Hidden Danger of Ubiquitous Things

Monday, April 11, 2016 to Friday, April 22, 2016

Extended gallery hours: Noon - 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17

(Canary Concepts and the Hidden Danger of Ubiquitous Things is in partial fulfillment of Stacey Skold’s doctoral studies. It is a dissertation research study.)

Detail of custom designed gown, late 1920's donated by Avery Woods.

Stories in Fashion, a Nebraska Perspective

Monday, February 15, 2016 to Friday, April 1, 2016

Seventy years of fashion are represented in the upcoming exhibition, “Nebraska: State of Fashion I” at the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery on UNL's east campus. From the closets of former Nebraska governor Kay Orr, from Avery Woods, and from the late Lincoln dressmaker Ilona Berk come vibrant examples of fashion worn in the state of Nebraska between 1920 and 1990. The exhibition opens February 15, 2016 and tells the story of the connoisseurship and skill that went into the creation of women’s dress in the mid- to late-20th century.

2009_044_0003 Princess Feather variation — Princess Feather variation, Circa 1860, Linda Giesler Carlson and Dr. John V. Carlson Collection, IQSCM #2009.044.0003

Red, White and Green All Over: Traditions and Variations of 19th Century Appliqué . Holly Zemke, Option II Thesis Project

Monday, November 23, 2015 to Friday, February 5, 2016

Note: The Gallery will be closed November 26-29, 2015 (Thanksgiving); December 24, 2015 - January 3, 2016 (UNL closedown); and January 19, 2016 (Martin Luther King holiday).

A new exhibition opening on November 23, at the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery will explore red and green quilts just in time for the holiday season. “Red, White, & Green All Over: Traditions and Variations of 19th-Century Red & Green Applique” features the elegant genre of red and green applique quilts that American quiltmakers made in large numbers between 1840 and 1880.

"Monopoly Money Dress" by Cheyenne Ruhnke, Age 12, Lindsay, NE

Celebration of Youth XXII: Work by 4-H Youth

Monday, October 12, 2015 to Saturday, November 14, 2015

Extended gallery hours on Saturday, November 14, 2015, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., followed by public presentation from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Celebration of Youth XXII: Work by 4-H Youth

The presentations will take place in Room 11, in the lower level of the Human Sciences Building.

Creative Work by Nebraska 4-H Youth

Apparel Design by Breanne Reiss - Option II Thesis Project

Monday, September 14, 2015 to Friday, October 2, 2015

Breanne Reiss, graduate student in UNL’s department of Textiles, Merchandising, and Fashion Design, will exhibit a collection of original garments, completed as part of her thesis work. Reiss was inspired by Japanese folktales to explore themes of womanhood and identity in dress through experimentation with silhouette, texture, and surface design.

Installation View. 2015. Jan Myers-Newbury: A Touch of Kismet

Jan Myers-Newbury: A Touch of Kismet - Quilts, Color, Pattern, Chance

Monday, June 1, 2015 to Friday, September 4, 2015

Jan Myers-Newbury Essay Jan Myers-Newbury BIO

In conjunction with the International Quilt Study Center and Museum’s expansion grand opening on Friday, June 5, the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery will remain open until 8:00 p.m for a special viewing of the exhibition.

Modernism and Romanticism: an American Design Approach

Monday, April 20, 2015 to Friday, May 22, 2015

The work of three American designers, Bill Blass, Geoffrey Beene and Oscar de la Renta will be the substance of this costume exhibition that will establish the mood of American fashion in the latter half of the 20th century. Beginning in the late 1960s, these designers emerged on the global fashion scene with fresh talent, energy and sophistication that marked women's changing position in society. Extant costumes from the UNL collection along with pieces from Indiana University and Ohio State University will adorn the gallery and deliver a message about American ingenuity.

Top left: Friends Best of Show Graduate Award Winner, B. Reiss; Mary Mitchell Fashion Excellence Award Winners: O. Borer, Best of Show Undergraduate; Awards of Distinction - M. McPherson & K. Coufal; and Awards of Merit - B. Perchal & A. Naco.

Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design Biennial Juried Student Exhibition

Monday, March 16, 2015 to Friday, April 10, 2015

Twenty-four pieces of some of the finest work produced by UNL’s fashion and textile design students will be on display at the Biennial Student Juried Exhibition at the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery in the Department of Textiles Merchandising and Fashion Design in the College of Education and Human Sciences. The work will be on display in the gallery on the second floor of the Human Sciences Building between March 16 and April 10, 2015.