LET ME BE WHO YOU NEED ME TO BE
A completed weaving as part of the edition
Purchase a Weaving
The weavings are currently all sold out. They are in production and they will be distributed as they are completed. Every sale helps us continue to offer programs and services at The Welcome Project and offer employment to the refugee women involved.
All weavings are signed and numbered by both Jeffrey Gibson and the weaver. As the weavings are completed we will notify those who pre-purchased them and arrange for shipping or pick up.
If you have questions or would like to be put on a waiting list please email wavepoolgallery@gmail.com or call (513) 257-0842
Weaving in progress
Welcome Edition #5:
Jeffrey Gibson
Wave Pool collaborated with renowned artist Jeffrey Gibson to produce Welcome Edition #5.
Jeffrey Gibson has produced a design for this limited edition of 25 weavings. These pieces were woven by five extraordinary weavers who are refugees from Nepal and Togo, now living here in Cincinnati, Ohio. The weavers are Sita Gurung, Kumari Subba, Bishnu Limbu, Phampa Rai, and Bella Adidjatou. Local weaving artist Rowe Schnure helped lead the project along with Susmita Subba and Cal Cullen.
The design, with text that states “LET ME BE WHO YOU NEED ME TO BE” speaks to immigration and assimilation while staying true to Gibson’s design aesthetic. Jeffrey Gibson is an interdisciplinary artist based in Hudson, New York. His artworks make reference to various aesthetic and material histories rooted in Indigenous cultures of the Americas, and in modern and contemporary subcultures. His work has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Denver Art Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the New Museum, Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Museum of Art, the Blanton Museum of Art, the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, and the Seattle Art Museum. Selected group exhibitions include the 2019 Whitney Biennial, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. He has exhibitions upcoming at MASS MoCA, the Aspen Art Museum, and deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. A 2019 MacArthur Fellow, Gibson sits on the boards of the Andy Warhol Foundation and Participant INC, he is a governor for the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and he is on the faculty at Bard College.
Due to the strong symbolism of a synergy between Native American artists and Immigrant artists through the creation of this piece, proceeds for this project will be shared with the Greater Cincinnati Native American Coalition.
True collaborative pieces, the interior is designed by Gibson while the outer boarder of the weaving is created with a design by the individual weaver. Each piece in this collection will be slightly different.
The pieces are woven with 8/2 Tencel weft with a cotton warp. They remain mounted on their looms, which are custom built cherry wood looms handcrafted by woodworker Scottie Bellissemo. The finished pieces are 17”w x 21”h.
Kumari Subba (left) and Bishnu Limbu (right) at Wave Pool getting started on a new weaving
What Are Welcome Editions?
Welcome Editions are limited edition art objects designed by nationally recognized artists and fabricated at least in part by the refugee and immigrant women of the Welcome Project. Often functional, affordable and always collectible, the editions appeal both to collectors of contemporary art and those seeking to support refugees.
Welcome Editions brings much needed employment and empowerment to local refugee and immigrant women and equally, it presents an opportunity to feature work by nationally regarded artists that is exclusive to Cincinnati. Each edition is artist-designed and then fabricated, in most instances, by the immigrant and refugee women. The level of artist involvement with the fabrication varies, but all final pieces are artist approved and signed.
All profits from Welcome Editions feed back into the growth of the Welcome Project. The editions are available for purchase through Wave Pool’s online shop, as well as at physical locales including Wave Pool, The Welcome Project, 21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati, and the Contemporary Arts Center Gift Shop.