Quinceañera: Dress and Memory in Latine Culture

Presented by Queens College

Date & Time: Thursday, 9/25/25 at 6:00 pm EST

Location: Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Klapper Hall, Queens College, Flushing, NY 11367

About the Event: The Godwin-Ternbach Museum (GTM) is pleased to present Quinceañera: Dress and Memory in Latine Culture, a powerful exhibition celebrating the enduring significance of the Quinceañera celebration within Latine communities across the United States. Organized by Emily Ripley, Director of the Queens College Fashion and Design Program, in collaboration with GTM Co-Directors Louise Weinberg and Maria Pio, this show highlights the rich cultural legacy of this coming-of-age tradition through dress, memory, and community storytelling.

A fully community-minded event, this exhibition will feature personal objects, written and oral accounts, and documentary materials from New York’s diverse pan-Latine communities, brought to life through a vibrant collection of handmade fabric flowers created by Queens College students. 

Works of art include Steven Blum’s “El Sueno Americano” and a series of striking images by noted documentary photographer Cinthya Santos Briones which examine traditional “quinceañera” celebrations among the Mexican migrant community in New York City. This immersive, multi-sensory experience captures the transformative spirit of the Quinceañera, revealing dress as a powerful expression of identity and cultural continuity.

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