Origami

Hosted by 14 Museums
Toured to 12 States and Canada
Visited by 225,000+ People

IA&A’s exhibition Above the Fold: New Expressions in Origami, which concluded a four-year tour in March 2020, was the first traveling exhibition to bring origami installations from around the world to North American audiences. Featuring work by nine international artists from six different countries, the exhibition included never-before-seen sculptures and large-scale installations that were created specifically for the exhibition. The participating artists redefined a traditional Japanese craft as a modern global genre, creating—from the simplest of materials—complex and unprecedented forms of artistic expression, to the delight and surprise of visitors.

Above the Fold is another example of the extraordinary effort and collaboration required by many to realize a touring exhibition of this scope and impact. IA&A is grateful to all our collaborators, from curator Meher McArthur to the artists themselves; to the many curatorial teams at museums across the country who helped install and de-install the exhibition; to the art shippers who ensured the safe and timely delivery of these delicate artworks from one museum to the next; and to the logistical wizards at IA&A who seamlessly managed all aspects of the tour over seven years. Congratulations!

Specifically, we would like to acknowledge our key collaborators for their dedication, commitment, and flexibility in helping to make this ambitious tour an international success.

Many thanks to the artists—Erik Demaine and Martin Demaine (Canada/USA), Vincent Floderer (France), Miri Golan (Israel), Paul Jackson (UK/Israel), Dr. Robert J. Lang (USA), Yuko Nishimura (Japan), Richard Sweeney (UK), and Jiangmei Wu (China/USA)—who pushed the boundaries of paper as a medium to create bold, provocative new works for Above the Fold.

Special thanks to independent curator, author, and educator Meher McArthur, former curator of East Asian Art at Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, California. McArthur is also the curator of IA&A’s traveling exhibitions Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of Origami (2012-2016) and Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper (2021-2024). Meher’s expertise and creative acumen continue to surprise and delight the many visitors who engage with her exhibitions.

And a big thank you to our museum partners who brought these spectacular works to their communities: Springfield Museums in Springfield, MA (2015), Hermitage Museum & Gardens in Norfolk, VA (2015), Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences in Charleston, WV (2015), Longmont Museum & Cultural Center in Longmont, CO (2016), Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, CA (2016), Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, FL (2016-2017), Allentown Art Museum in Allentown, PA (2017), Visual Arts Center at Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls, SD (2017), Dayton Art Institute in Dayton, OH (2018), Northwest Museum of Arts + Culture in Spokane, WA (2018), Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului, HI (2018), Art Gallery of Hamilton in Hamilton, Ontario (2019), Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg, FL (2019), and Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, WI (2019-2020).