PAIR Center Outing: Fabric Workshop & Museum for Risa Puno Group Hug Exhibit

June 5, 2024

Excerpt

In celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the PAIR Center visited the Fabric Workshop & Museum to see the Risa Puno: Group Hug exhibit.

This experience resonated with many of us at PAIR, given its alignment with our work on caregiving. Risa Puno’s work centers kapwa, a pre-colonial Philippine concept representing “a deeply shared identity and the belief that we have a moral imperative to care for others as we do ourselves.” This game-based exhibit allows participants to experience the feelings that emerge from real-life caregiving.

In addition to an in-person guided tour of the exhibit, we also got a behind-the-scenes look at the print studio and participated in a hands-on screen printing workshop.

DJ Cintron adds red and blue fabric paint to the screen while Sebastian Castro watches. — Students DJ Cintron and Sebastian Castro add fabric paint to the screen.

Erich Dress uses a hairdryer to dry the yellow and green design on his tote bag. — Erich Dress dries his design.

Stephanie Szymanski uses the squeegee to screen print a green and yellow design, while others watch in the background. — Stephanie Szymanski screen prints the design onto her tote bag with the help of a Museum Apprentice.

Emma Britez Ferrante, Nirali Patel, Shira Blady pose holding their tote bags. The designs of the bags resemble games: scrabble, checkers, and a maze. — Emma Britez Ferrante, Nirali Patel, Shira Blady model their tote bags.