Using stitchery, macramé and weaving, integrating shards of pottery, found objects and recyclables, bottle caps and shells, the 35 artists selected for this exhibition created complex tapestries bespeaking their cultures, their roots and contemporary political and familial concerns.

In designing our call for artists to explore crafting as a way to reflect on cultural diversity, we looked to a history spanning millennia, from the feather collages and paintings of Peru, to the contemporary works of El Anatsui, to the computer detritus integrated by Moffet Takadiwa in his keyboard beading, to the constructs of Leonardo Drew or Liza Lew. Shells embedded into weavings, rubies and gems into medieval tapestry, hair for embroidery, recycled wool for warmth, there is a world to explore, a language to decode.

In total, we selected 35 pieces by 30 artists, culled from some 400 submissions. The exhibition draws on contemporary video by Polish artists Jan Baracz, stitching together images that bombard us as we walk the streets of New York, as well as the found lingerie and notions reflecting on the circle of life by Peekskill based Patricia Miranda, to the use of recycled delicate fabrics by India born Natasha Das, inserting abstraction that lets the imagination fly, to the whimsical figures of fellow Peekskill artist Inez Andrucyk and the heavily weighted, hand crafted ceramic tapestry of Nigerian Ozioma Onuzulike. Continents and countries come together in a symmetry of shared values and common needs.

Artists in the exhibition:

Inez Andrucyk | Jan Baracz | Jill Bell | Anita Bracalente | Ruby Chisti | Jodi Colella | Jaynie Crimmins | Adrienne Cullom | Sandi Daroza | Natasha Das | Sherry Davis | Sophia DeJesus-Sabella | Donise English | Philippe Halaburda | Jill Kerttula | Natalya Khorover | Barbara Korman | Carole P. Kunstadt | Lori Lawrence | Nicole Mazza | Sharon Pierce | McCullough | Patricia Miranda | Elizabeth Morisette | Ellie Murphy | Diana Noh | Erik Jon Olson | Karla Rydrych | Michael Seri | Arlé Sklar-Weinstein | Mary Tooley Parker |