The radical power of sewing: the artist turning textiles into activism

A Los Angeles exhibit by Aram Han Sifuentes shows the connection between fabric and her passion for political action

Sewing and textiles have always been a part of the artist Aram Han Sifuentes’ life. Her South Korean immigrant parents operated a dry cleaning business, and she mended her own clothing from a young age.

But it wasn’t until she began learning more about immigrant justice and social justice, while making art on the side, that she saw the connection between textiles and her passion for political action. She turned her interests into a career, using textile tools and materials, along with communal workshops, to put that intersection in the spotlight.