The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens has announced a series of athletic demonstrations and engaging programs for the public to enjoy in celebration of Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960, a traveling exhibition organized by the American Federation of Arts and the FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles. Sporting Fashion is the first exhibition to explore the evolution of women’s sporting attire in Western fashion, and Northeast Florida marks the final stop on its national tour. The exhibition is on view at the Cummer Museum through May 19, 2024.

From the LPGA to the Jacksonville Women’s Rugby Football Club, the Museum has partnered with a variety of athletic organizations to host dynamic demonstrations throughout the run of the exhibition. The Museum is also hosting a number of engaging classes and workshops focused on the fashion elements in this exhibition, as well as a fundraiser, Sport Your Fashion: A Curated Experience & Fundraiser on April 20 featuring putt-putt in the gardens, table tennis, shuffleboard, putt-ski, a pickleball paddle raise fundraising auction, live music, cocktails, dining and more.

Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960 highlights the attire that defined women’s participation in the sporting world. The exhibition contains more than 60 ensembles worn for a variety of outdoor activities during the 19th and 20th centuries, including swimming, fencing, tennis, golf, motorcycling and piloting. These rare surviving pieces illustrate the active lives of women—some known, others anonymous— who wore ensembles such as these to challenge the status quo, to better themselves, and to serve as examples of achievement for ensuing generations.

A list of Cummer Museum Art & Gardens events and programs is available online at www.cummermuseum.org.