It is with great honor and joy that we share with you our first museum installation at the Crow Museum of Asian Art at the University of Texas at Dallas. 

Three things are really important to me-- cultural heritage, immigrant identity, and handmade textiles. This installation brought all those things together and I couldn't be more grateful to the incredible crew at the Crow Museum and UTD.

Curator Natalia Di Pietrantonio invited us to create a textile piece that spoke to the antique kimonos of the Montgomery Collection. Our approach went beyond just one piece-- we created a holistic contemporary installation that takes the museum visitor on an educational and cross-cultural journey of the revered pigment. 

Blending Education and Creativity

We wanted to leave the visitor not just inspired, but also more knowledgeable about indigo. Education is one of our key tenets at KUFRI. We started with showcasing raw materials like indigo seeds, powder and cakes, dyed yarns and other materials that speak to the process. Accompanying this, is a video we shot in Bhuj, India, showing the mesmerizing process of indigo vat dyeing.

 Next, we assembled a finished goods case that displays a variety of intriguing, everyday items showing the versatility of indigo, from classic jeans to wine wrapped in indigo fabric using the furoshiki technique.

 
Creating Ruminations

The jewel of the installation is 'Ruminations'-- a 8'x7' piecework textile; a wild exploration of indigo shades and patterns from Japan, India and West Africa, creating a contemporary, cross-cultural statement of migration of the dye. 

 The starting point for 'Ruminations' was to create something energetic and complex that juxtaposes the pristine antiquity of the kimonos, something the visitor could look at for a long time.

To achieve that, we created an abstract design and mixed fabrics we dyed along with found indigo fabrics from Japan, India and West Africa. The pieces were joined employing a Japanese boro mending technique and numerous kantha stitches. Varying yarns create textural interest, and stitches in sweeping waves, signifying the swirling water in the vat, creates movement. 

Immersing myself and working in the field brings me immense joy because I get to see a project go from idea to reality. There's a mystical energy to it and that was very much present around this project. Traveling multiple places in India to make this come to life, had its challenges, but working with immensely talented artisans and wonderful people made it well worth it.  

The Next Chapter

Now that our studio has stepped into the art world, we would love to create more pieces that speak to identity, culture and heritage craft. Being a fresh voice in the Asian diaspora arts, we are eager to see what new doors this opens for our studios. Whether it's a space that needs a unique installation activation to other opportunities, we want to work with museums and clients who support diverse voices with a global perspective.

Visit the new Crow Museum at UTD:
Hours - Tues-Sun, 11-5
Address - 800 W Campbell, Richardson, TX

We also developed a host of special exhibition products for the Crow Museum gift shop. Check out that article here. 

- - - - - - - - - - - 

The Crow Museum of Asian Art recently opened their second location on the campus of UT Dallas in Richardson— the first building on a 12-acre site designed to turn UTD into a cultural destination for North Texas. Designed by Morphosis, the 68,000-square-foot Crow Museum at UTD houses remarkable collections by Trammell and Margaret Crow family, Horchow family, Boeckman Collection of Latin American Folk Art, and Bryan J. Stevens Collection of Masks of the Sierra de Puebla.

The Edith and Peter O’Donnell Athenaeum will house 3 buildings— Crow Museum being the first, followed by a concert hall and finally, a museum for the traditional arts of the Americas.