Spotlight on Felicity Wong
For the second of three exhibitions in Union Hall’s 2026 Rough Gems program, writer, researcher, and now, emerging curator Felicity Wong presented Wearing, Wearing—an examination of clothing as a form of capital shaped by labor, luxury, and ownership. The title Wearing, Wearing invoked a double meaning: wearing as an act of donning, dressing, or adornment, and wearing as a process of erosion and destruction. The exhibiting artists—Flora Wilds, Elle Hong, Sarah Darlene, Allegra Giddings, Paloma Jimenez, and Allison Sheldon—employed strategies of abstractions, repurposing, amalgamations, and deconstruction to investigate the relationships between clothing and decay.
Stemming from extensive academic research in Modern and contemporary art, Afro Asian relations, and garment and textile labor histories, Wong’s debut curatorial project interrogated clothing as commodity in opposition to museum exhibitions that exclusively glorify haute couture fashion designs. New York-based collective Shanzhai Lyric and subject of Wong's Art History master's thesis greatly informed the development of Wearing, Wearing. “Shanzhai Lyric transcribes the often mistranslated or misspelled English logos and slogans on counterfeit, or shanzhai, luxury garments into long poetic texts. I extend this intervention—of turning to clothes that have been commonly dismissed as trashy, cheap, and fake, and mining their creative and subversive potentials—to Wearing, Wearing, which also interrogates how these dismissals are rooted in historical legacies of racial and colonial capitalism,” explains Wong.
I sat down with Wong for a conversation about her research, relationship to clothing, journey as an emerging curator, and so much more. Check out the full interview on our YouTube channel by clicking the button below.
Opening reception of Wearing, Wearing. Photo by Roxanna
Since opening on June 25, 2026, Wearing, Wearing has garnered significant attention from Denver's arts and fashion communities, attracting local fashion authorities, journalists, editors, and collectors.
Westword arts and culture editor Kristen Fiore spotlighted Felicity Wong's curatorial debut, exploring how Wearing, Wearing challenges conventional fashion exhibitions by centering labor, colonial capitalism, and everyday garments rather than haute couture.
In DARIA Magazine, writer Nina Peterson examined Wearing, Wearing through the lens of labor, following how the exhibition connects the work of garment makers, artists, consumers, and white-collar workers to the systems that produce value within the fashion industry.
Bonfils-Stanton Foundation’s writer-in-residence Manuel Aragon featured Wearing, Wearing alongside fellow Rough Gems curator Sierra Jeter's project, Drexciya: Into the Deep, to show how both exhibitions confront overlooked histories and show the importance of investing in emerging curatorial voices.
Photos of Wearing, Wearing installation and opening reception by Jess Díaz and Roxanna
Beyond the exhibition, Wearing, Wearing extended its themes through public programming that invited guests to reflect on personal and collective memories within clothing. Deadstock: Clothing Swap Party encouraged visitors to exchange clothing while writing and sharing stories, anecdotes, and memories tied to clothing they brought, creating a space that solidified the exhibition's exploration of garments as carriers of collective memory and history. A Curatorial Tour + Artist Talk with Felicity Wong further explained the exhibition, offering a deep dive into the research and ideas that shaped the exhibition.
Through scholarly research, labored artwork, abundant commodities, and open dialogue, Felicity Wong challenged us to think deeply about the relationships we develop with the clothing we consume. “My exhibition seeks to broaden the way we reckon with the legacies and consequences of the current garment industry: the artists here are not thinking against fast fashion, but thinking through and with the decaying materials and conditions that fast fashion systems produce. The artworks refuse both a romanticization and rejection of fraying clothes and desires, asking instead how we can move forward alongside that decay,” shares Wong.
For a full list of exhibition resource materials, visit the Wearing, Wearing Fashion Reader.
Keep the Spotlight on Emerging Creatives
This exhibition is made possible by supporters and patrons like you. If you believe in the opportunities that Rough Gems provides for emerging curators like Felicity Wong, consider supporting the program by making a donation to Union Hall as an annual Spotlight Donor. Donations of $250 or more ensure that we can continue uplifting the voices of early-career curators and cultural producers by placing their work in the spotlight.
About Rough Gems
Rough Gems was launched as a pathway for emerging creatives in the Denver-area to cultivate curatorial leadership and first-hand experience organizing an exhibition from concept to execution. Since 2019, more than 20 curators have developed and debuted curatorial projects and 97 artists have exhibited their work. Through a jury selection process, Rough Gems offers a platform for three new and emerging curators to present an exhibition at Union Hall, complete with financial support, curatorial mentorship from Union Hall’s Chief Curator Esther Hernandez, opportunities for public engagement, and access to valuable resources. The 2026 Rough Gems program includes three curators—Sierra Jeter, Felicity Wong, and Italu Ramos Hernandez—whose exhibitions will take place in six week increments throughout the year.
The 2026 Rough Gems program is generously supported by The Coloradan Community Foundation and Kenneth King Foundation. Union Hall is supported by the residents of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, Colorado Creative Industries, and the National Endowment for the Arts.