98 Objects: Making Connections
An online exhibition of Miniatures for Kay Sekimachi
This spring, the World Shibori Network Foundation and friends gathered for a special event to celebrate Bay Area artist Kay Sekimachi's life, art, and 98th journey around the sun at the San Francisco Airport Museum’s exhibition, Kay Sekimachi: Weaving Traditions, open until 14 July 2024. All of Kay’s masterpieces in this exhibition are on loan from Forrest L. Merrell, a leading American craft collector and visionary and a lifelong friend of Kay.
Image: Kay Sekimachi card weaving in her studio May 1974 Berkeley, California, Courtesy of Kay Sekimachi.
In honour of Kay’s creative career, the World Shibori Network Foundation is curating 98 Objects: Making Connections, an online exhibition of miniature artworks and objects gifted to Kay by artist friends worldwide in honour of her 98th birthday.
Image: Bonnie Cohen, paper-dyed flower ball - handmade, 98 Object collection, 2024.
98 Objects connects the global community of artists and friends Sekimachi has inspired for seven decades. This project also celebrates the artist’s legacy, including life’s challenges, passed on through their artwork and creativity. This includes Kay’s story among the Japanese-Americans who experienced a dark period of World War II in the U.S. government’s internment camps and an eloquent extension of Nancy Ukai, the Project Director of 50 Objects, an exhibition at the National Museum of Japanese Americans.
Image: “Sphere of Kay’s Influence Weaving Tradition and Culture with Fiber”by Lucy Arai, paper-indigo dye sashiko, and gilded, handmade, 98 Object collection, 2024.
The project welcomes all who are interested in contributing to the 98 Objects. The Art Call Out will remain open until 30 August 2024.
The 98 Objects collection includes miniatures crafted by artists Ana Lisa Hedstrom, Shelia O’Hara, Lucy Arai, Christina Kim, and Shibori artisans in Japan. Textile scholars Nancy Ukai and Vanessa Moraga, and artists Nobuko Hirori, and Hisako Sekijima. Many other artists and friends inspired by Kay and her work have provided objects to the collection.
Image: Straw horse doll by Yuki Ebna, artisan, Sado Island, japan, 2024.
The miniature object gifts will reside in Kay’s home nestled among her beautiful art collection. Our hope is that the love, friendship, and inspiration represented by these objects will bring joy and smiles to Kay every day.
The online exhibition will be accessible from the World Shibori Network Foundation website later this year.
*Kay Sekimachi: Weaving Traditions along with June Schwarcz: Unconventional Enamels exhibition until 14 July 2024 at the San Francisco Airport Museum
This spring, the World Shibori Network Foundation and friends gathered for a special event to celebrate Bay Area artist Kay Sekimachi's life, art, and 98th journey around the sun at the San Francisco Airport Museum’s exhibition, Kay Sekimachi: Weaving Traditions, open until 14 July 2024. All of Kay’s masterpieces in this exhibition are on loan from Forrest L. Merrell, a leading American craft collector and visionary and a lifelong friend of Kay.
In honour of Kay’s creative career, the World Shibori Network Foundation is curating 98 Objects: Making Connections, an online exhibition of miniature artworks and objects gifted to Kay by artist friends worldwide in honour of her 98th birthday.
98 Objects connects the global community of artists and friends Sekimachi has inspired for seven decades. This project also celebrates the artist’s legacy, including life’s challenges, passed on through their artwork and creativity. This includes Kay’s story among the Japanese-Americans who experienced a dark period of World War II in the U.S. government’s internment camps and an eloquent extension of Nancy Ukai, the Project Director of 50 Objects, an exhibition at the National Museum of Japanese Americans.
The project welcomes all who are interested in contributing to the 98 Objects. The Art Call Out will remain open until 30 August 2024.
The 98 Objects collection includes miniatures crafted by artists Ana Lisa Hedstrom, Shelia O’Hara, Lucy Arai, Christina Kim, and Shibori artisans in Japan. Textile scholars Nancy Ukai and Vanessa Moraga, and artists Nobuko Hirori, and Hisako Sekijima. Many other artists and friends inspired by Kay and her work have provided objects to the collection.
The miniature object gifts will reside in Kay’s home nestled among her beautiful art collection. Our hope is that the love, friendship, and inspiration represented by these objects will bring joy and smiles to Kay every day.
The online exhibition will be accessible from the World Shibori Network Foundation website later this year.
*Kay Sekimachi: Weaving Traditions along with June Schwarcz: Unconventional Enamels exhibition until 14 July 2024 at the San Francisco Airport Museum