Joyful Stitch
Joyful Stitch, a public installation by Ponnapa Prakkamakul MLA 11, is available to visit from June 24–October 31, 2023 in Boston's Leather District.
About Joyful Stitch
Joyful Stitch is a temporary installation designed to bring joy and provide a space for residents of the area to connect. This interactive artwork is inspired by the invention of the first sewing machine in Boston and tells the story of the contributions of the Leather District and Chinatown to the history of the textile industry.
The piece consists of two large sewing machines inviting people to paddle with their feet or roll with their hands to ignite the lights along the artwork. The sewing machines connect platforms similar to industrial machines that helped fabric workers in the past. One platform faces the Leather District, while the other looks toward Chinatown. On the back of the sewing machines are memories from Larry Chan, a current resident of the Leather District, and Cynthia Yee, a former resident of Chinatown, whose family members worked in the garment industry. The platforms also exhibit visions of the future for this park collected from workshops with residents.
About Ponnapa Prakkamakul
Ponnapa Prakkamakul (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and landscape architect based in Massachusetts. Using found materials foraged from landscapes and stories collected from local communities, Ponnapa’s work explores the relationship between people and their environment, focusing on cultural displacement and sense of belonging. Currently, Ponnapa is a member at Kingston Gallery and a landscape architect at an interdisciplinary design firm, Sasaki.
