May Her Thao, Large Aqua Cross Stitch, 1985. Cotton.
Cloth as Community: Hmong Textiles in America
January 28 to May 22, 2022
Hmong flower cloth (or paj ntaub) is one of the world’s great textile traditions and an excellent example of cloth as community. Despite its deep roots in Hmong culture, this complex art was not widely known outside Asia until after the Vietnam War, when Hmong refugees arrived in the United States. The works illustrate the profound relevance of textiles as infrastructure in the Hmong culture, an art form that shifted as it adapted to fit new realities. The exhibition features 28 textiles—flower cloths and embroidered story clothes—by those in the Hmong community.
The works also reveal the radical upheaval Hmong refugees experienced, as many crossed the Mekong River to Thailand. Hmong women traditionally produced complex clothing that established clan identity through abstract geometric designs, created by embroidery, appliqué, reverse appliqué, and indigo batik. These patterns continue to influence the aesthetic choices of contemporary makers, even as those choices were mediated by refugee experience and economic concerns.
A Program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and The National Endowment for the Arts
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This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.