Displays and Exhibits Available

If your business, gallery, or other facility is interested in showcasing the work of Refugee women artists, we have options available and are happy to work with you on developing concepts for purchase, rental, or loan. Please use the link below to begin the conversation.

Flock of All Colors

In Flock of All Colors, Stitch Buffalo explores the commonality of all people in our quest for peaceful coexistence, welcoming communities, and individual expression as we navigate our time between the earth and sky.

The exhibit centers on the theme of birds as a metaphor for freedom, enlightenment, hope, and wisdom. These associations with birds are found in virtually every cultural tradition, making them an ideal form for the expression of universal human desires. Soaring above the trees and nestled amongst the vibrant foliage in the large central Palm Dome of the Botanical Gardens, these colorful birds encourage visitors to consider the space from a fresh and emotionally elevated perspective.

Because birds are also associated with transitions and travel (much like the refugee women artisans who created them), garlands mark the entry and exit points of the exhibition space. These traditional garlands are used in many world cultures to “sweep away” bad spirits as you leave or enter a space. In this context, they welcome visitors and mark the transition to a space where they are invited to open their minds and explore new intersections of earth and sky, culture and place, past and future.

Each large-scale bird is created as a textile-based sculptural piece and embellished with hand embroidery by refugee women artisans living in Western New York. Likewise, the transitional garlands are created by refugee artisans drawing on their own cultural traditions. 

This exhibit was originally shown at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, running March 11 through April 10, 2023.

Presented by Stitch Buffalo in partnership with: New York State Council on the Arts; Arts Services Initiative of WNY; and Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.

Creative Journeys

Celebrating the Art of Refugee Women in Western New York
 

Since 2014, Stitch Buffalo (501c3) has provided a welcoming space for refugee and immigrant women to connect and share their love of the textile arts. Creative Journeys is a celebration of that work and the textile traditions these women carried with them from Bhutan, Burma, Nepal, Thailand, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Somalia, and beyond—including back-strap loom weaving, hand embroidery, beading, macrame, block printing, and more.

This exhibit was originally shown at the Buffalo History Museum, running May 21 through August 20, 2022.

Presented by Stitch Buffalo in partnership with: The Buffalo History Museum; New York State Council on the Arts; Arts Services Initiative of WNY; Erie County, NY; Providence Fund (Sisters of St. Francis); and M&T Bank.

Social Justice Stitched Stories

Stitching Together Our Community Voices
in the 21st Century Sewing Circle
 

"Social Justice Stitched Stories" was a 2021/2022 program designed to engage local students and community members with Stitch Buffalo's Refugee women artists, staff, and volunteers in a collaborative textile arts project. In a process facilitated by diversity and inclusion professionals, we examined social justice issues (such as racism, discrimination, gun violence, socioeconomic and educational inequity, xenophobia, cultural barriers, stereotyping, and mental health).

Based on these conversations, participants created “stitched stories” reflecting their lived experiences. The final work was be shown in an exhibition that premiered at the Burchfield Penney Art Gallery in January/February 2022. 

Our first "class" of students in the Social Justice Stitched Stories program was from Buffalo State College. They developed and presented works pertaining to food access, textile waste, immigration, working conditions, and more. Throughout 2021, additional groups of participants joined the program from the WNY community at large, Niagara University, Buffalo State College, and National Federation for Just Communities.

This program was funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor of New York and the New York State Legislature; administered by Arts Services Inc.

The Power of Peace

At the Burchfield Penney Art Center's "Stay Gold" celebration on January 10, 2020, Stitch Buffalo was proud to debut “Peace Signs,” an art installation celebrating peace and unity among all people.

Standing 11 feet tall, the peace sign was assembled entirely from hand-embroidered work by Stitch Buffalo artists: Bina Biswa, Dambari, Amber, Paw Eh Bu, Ni Ni Sui, Tika, Zi Ram, Mandari Mager, Ser Eh Paw, Deo Kami, Hem Tamang, Kausila Yamuna, Saraswati Tiwari, Bawk Mi, Hkawng Lung, Hin Si, Tila Bastola, Ei Zar, Mu Mu, Sila Mager, Dah John, Nin Hta Mai, Sarita Biswa, Phul Biswa, Sally Bhandari, and Wah Say. 

Stitch Buffalo's inspiring peace sign is a traveling art installation, available for display in galleries, public and commercial buildings, libraries, hospitals, schools—or anywhere else the message of hope, creativity, and community can be celebrated. It can also be configured for smaller spaces, as needed. Since its initial exhibition, it has been installed at The Buffalo History Museum (2022) and exhibited at Art’s Cafe as part of a juried show during the Springville Art Crawl (2022).

If you know or represent an institution that might be interested in displaying this work, please contact info@stitchbuffalo.org for details.

Remembering Home

From early American embroidery samplers to the story cloths of the Hmong people in Laos, Burma, and Thailand, hand-stitched textiles have a long history as storytelling devices. For women’s lives, these pieces often document experiences that are excluded from “official” tellings of history.

For the “Remembering Home” collection, Stitch Buffalo asked members of the Refugee Women’s Workshop to embroider 8x10-inch panels with an image of their home as they remembered it—before their lives in Refugee camps or emigration to the United States. Stitched on a flat textile surface (rather than, for instance, as part of a garment), each work captures a meaningful place and time, seen through the eyes, hands, and emotions of one artist.

These warm and lively village scenes, primarily from Burma, Bhutan, and Nepal, are a vivid reminder of what has been lost to racial and political violence in the region. We hope they also serve as a message about the peace and happiness Refugee families seek when making their new homes in communities around the world.

A few samples from Stitch Buffalo's “Remembering Home” are shown above. This is a traveling art installation, available for display in galleries, public and commercial buildings, libraries, hospitals, schools—or anywhere else the message of hope, creativity, and community can be celebrated. It can be configured for large or small spaces as needed. If you know or represent an institution that might be interested in displaying this work, please contact info@stitchbuffalo.org for details.