Join us for Embroidery Night School, a hands-on embroidery presentation and workshop series conceived with the artist and activist Spandita Malik in conjunction with the exhibition Locating Girlhood: Place and Identity in Early American “Schoolgirl” Art at the American Folk Art Museum . 

Inspired by the knowledge-sharing model of the stitching workshop, the program will offer participants the opportunity to experiment with historic sewing techniques while reflecting on the connections between textile work, community, and social change.

For the first evening of the series, artist Jagdeep Raina will share his knowledge of two ancient techniques from India that he has been slowly relearning and resurrecting. The first is “Kashmiri sozni,” an ancient chain stitch used to embroider the ambi symbol, a signature teardrop shape found in Kashmiri shawls. The second is “phulkari,” a collective and collaborative art form created in the villages of Punjab.

The Dialogue + Studio Workshop series offers participants opportunities to gain insight into and engage with self-taught art, past and present, at a deep level. Focused discussions about select themes, techniques, and materials featured in current exhibitions are paired with related expert-led hands-on workshops.

This program is organized by Mathilde Walker-Billaud, AFAM Curator of Programs and Engagement.

About the Artist

Jagdeep Raina is an interdisciplinary artist and writer from Guelph, Ontario. He holds graduate degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design, Queens College, City University of New York. and was a 2021 Mellon Arts & Practitioner Fellow at Yale University. Raina currently lives and works in Queens, New York City.

Consult the artist’s webpage here.

Images 

Left: Maria Hammond, Needlework Picture, North Kingstown, Rhode Island, c. 1810. Silk and watercolor on silk, 15 x 19 in. North Kingstown Free Library, Rhode Island  

Right: Jagdeep Raina, She Travels Softly Through the Seven Gates as Her Garden Croons for Her, 2022. Silk and cotton embroidered tapestry, 26 x 17 inches (66 x 43.2 cm)

Registration

This program will take place at the American Folk Art Museum, located at 2 Lincoln Square, New York City. 

This program is open to artists and creatives at all levels of training and experience. It is limited to 18 individuals. 

Advance registration is required. 

Tickets are $15 / $12 members, students, artists, seniors.

Materials will be provided.

For questions or to request accessibility accommodations, please email publicprograms@folkartmuseum.org.