A traditional Hmong embroidery workshop with youth, adults, and elders. Photo: Pachia Lucy Vang.
Culture through Cloth is an evolving traditional art and community design studio focused on promoting the making, wearing, and learning of HMong (Hmong and Mong) culture through cloth. They provide educational workshops and cultural goods designed to create more places and spaces for HMong people. Paj ntaub circle sessions directly engage elder artisans, investing in their leadership and creative capabilities to revitalize their textile skills and address intergenerational barriers to accessing HMong knowledge. The studio’s founder, Pachia Lucy Vang, is a paj ntaub maker and educator who explores concepts of indigeneity, diaspora, and belonging through an interdisciplinary practice in fiber arts, design, and curation. Her work is informed by her experiences as a Hmong-American navigating culture, art, trauma, and society with a pluriversal imagination that speaks from HMong-centered knowledge.
Pachia Lucy Vang and Lu Lee introduce HMong needlework, 2022
Paj Ntaub Circles
Culture through Cloth will host monthly Paj Ntaub Circles at the HOPE Center in Sacramento, CA. These circles will provide time and space for community members to make paj ntaub or HMong “flower cloth.” Funds support honorariums for cultural bearers, administrative costs, location fees, and materials for participants.
Paj Ntaub Circles
Culture through Cloth will organize bi-weekly Paj Ntaub Circles led by elder practitioners at the Hmong Organizing for Progress and Empowerment (H.O.P.E.) Center in Sacramento, California, in partnership with Hmong Youth & Parents United (HYPU). Funding will also be used to create a table to store craft supplies and encourage intimacy during the gatherings.
Pachia Lucy Vang | [email protected]
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