Fifty-one contemporary and vintage aprons will occupy the spotlight beginning Jan. 29 in a unique exhibition titled “Apron Strings: Ties to the Past-Classics” on display at the Gallery of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village.

A program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and the National Endowment for the Arts, the exhibit brings nostalgia back to Tifton through some iconic textiles and recognizable patterns.  Museum Curator Polly Huff said the exhibition runs through March 16.

“Featuring aprons dating from the 1900s through present, the exhibition chronicles changing attitudes toward women and domestic work,” Huff said.   “It also surveys the wide range of design and craft techniques apron-makers have used to express themselves, while still working within creative venues traditionally available to women.”

Although taken for granted by many social and art historians, the apron is the subject of a fascinating reevaluation in this exhibition which reviews the apron’s role as an emotionally charged vehicle for expression with a rich and varied craft history that is still relevant today.

“Elaborately embroidered aprons of delicate cotton, for example, were worn by well-heeled women of the 1920s,” Huff said.   “In contrast, the Depression and war years of the 1930s and 1940s inspired sturdy, calico bib aprons.

“The post-war 1940s and 1950s—the June Cleaver era—stand out as the acknowledged heyday of the apron, when commercial and intricately hand-decorated aprons flourished as symbols of family and motherhood.”

Artists continue using aprons to explore cultural myths and realities as well as their individual experiences with American domesticity. Though not as widespread as they once were, aprons remain functional and protective garments for men and women.

Huff said the “Apron Strings” exhibit is organized into several thematic groups that address design, historical context, use, and cultural message. Accompanying text panels provide general background for each theme.  The Gallery will also encourage interactive viewing through a children’s activity sheet available to the youngest visitors to the exhibit.

“The exhibition serves as an excellent tool to bring together diverse parts of the community through shared experiences with and memories of a common, everyday textile,” Huff said.   “In addition to numerous educational programming opportunities, the exhibition also includes an on-site ‘try-on’ collection for interaction and learning.”