Smithsonian State Fairs Extravaganza

Museum & Cultural Institution

Client Type

Creative Partnerships

Service Provided

Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC

Location

For the Smithsonian’s State Fairs exhibition celebration, Pelonkey created “Quilted in Motion,” turning state-fair craft, identity, and storytelling into living art. Four site-specific concepts included custom patchwork-costumed greeters, trick-lasso performance, and personalized calligraphy keepsakes presented through hand-finished jam jars—all developed for the Renwick Gallery’s curatorial and operational standards.
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Curatorial Alignment:

Entertainment designed as an extension of the State Fairs exhibition

Bespoke Craft

Custom patchwork costuming and hand-finished jam-jar keepsakes

Execution

Four custom, site-specific living-art concepts

The Challenge

The Smithsonian requested an immersive entertainment program aligned with a major exhibition exploring state fairs, Americana, and traditional handcraft. The experience had to respect the architectural sensitivity of the Renwick Gallery while translating fine art themes into engaging live performance.

  • Phase 01

Living Art Installations

Custom-designed performance hosts wearing hand-crafted textile costuming that mirrored the museum’s quilting artifacts — not characters placed in a space, but living extensions of the exhibition.

  • Custom "Quilt Walkers" in hand-crafted patchwork costuming
  • "Quilted in Motion" performance hosts throughout the gallery
  • Textiles designed to mirror specific exhibition artifacts
  • All costuming built for gallery-standard movement and scale
  • Phase 02

Interactive Crafts & Tradition

Live trick-lasso performers alongside artisanal calligraphers personalizing custom jam jars as branded gallery keepsakes — interactive craft experiences that made the exhibition tactile and memorable.

  • Live trick-lasso performers — authentic Americana tradition
  • Artisanal calligraphers personalizing custom jam jars on-site
  • Branded gallery keepsakes produced live for each guest
  • All activations curated for curatorial and visitor alignment
  • Phase 03

Unified Production Scope

Site-specific production built to Renwick Gallery standards — no standard event infrastructure, every element approved against museum compliance requirements before a single performer arrived.

  • Concept design and historical theme alignment
  • Full costume construction and fitting
  • Talent direction and gallery-floor choreography
  • Gallery-compliant logistics from load-in to departure

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VIEW CASE STUDY