Patchwork Noren Making Workshop with Megumi Shauna Arai

Patchwork Noren Making Workshop with Megumi Shauna Arai

Saturday Aug 15th & Sunday Aug 16th 11AM - 4PM with lunch break
$300 (includes materials)

Noren are traditional Japanese fabric dividers, often hung in doorways, entrances, or on walls. Both functional and expressive, they delineate space while offering endless possibilities for composition, color exploration and artistic creativity. Over the course of two days students will be guided through the process of creating a patchwork noren, focusing on fabric selection, natural dyeing, composition and machine sewing. Open to all levels of experience. All materials included.

Megumi Shauna Arai (b. 1989) lives and works in New York City. She is interested in points of encounter, practices of embodiment, enfolding and unfolding aesthetics and the material and immaterial as interconnected. She has an interdisciplinary BA in Sociology, Embodiment Studies, Political Science and Mysticism from the CUNY Unique and Individualized Studies Program. Selected exhibitions include The Tongue is the Child of the Heart, Nina Johnson Gallery (Miami, 2026); the host, the guest, curated by Nichole Caruso, ATLA Gallery (Los Angeles, 2026); Sinew, Koki Arts (Tokyo, 2025); Immanent Infinite, Object & Thing (New York, 2025); Group Shop, Bridget Donahue Gallery (New York, 2024); Summer Arrangement, Object & Thing at LongHouse (East Hampton, 2023); The Third Kind, Management Gallery (New York, 2023); Madoo, Object & Thing (Sagaponack, 2022); At The Noyes House, Blum & Poe, Mendes Wood DM and Object & Thing (New Canaan, 2020); Lore: Reimagined, Wing Luke Museum (Seattle, 2018) and Midst, Jacob Lawrence Gallery (Seattle, 2018). Recent residencies include Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Library, Headlands Center for the Arts and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Pedagogical collaborations include Field Meridians, The Museum of Modern Art public programs and The Mothership. Arai has given artist talks at Asia Art Archive in America, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Library, Topical Cream, Montez Press Radio, Parsons School of Design, Wing Luke Museum and Henry Art Gallery. Her work has been featured in BOMB Magazine, The Here & There Collective, Topical Cream, Architectural Digest, The New York Times and Impulse Magazine among others. Arai’s work is in the collection of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.

Cancellation Policy:

Please consider carefully before signing up for one of our classes or purchasing for another person. Due to the small class size for in-person workshops, each participant makes an important contribution to the group dynamic and canceling within short notice can make it difficult to fill your spot. If you do need to cancel, please be aware of our policies:

Cancellations must be made at least 15 days prior to the start date of a workshop in order to receive a refund.

Registration and material costs (if applicable) will be refunded, minus a non-refundable $25.00 registration fee. Although extremely rare, we reserve the right to cancel any class up to 48 hours beforehand for a full refund.