This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Metro artist Clare Rojas invited artist Ramekon O’Arwisters to lead a public “Crochet Jam” recently at the Japanese American Community & Cultural Center that drew multi-generational participants.

Community members from across the Little Tokyo/Arts District area and beyond gathered to learn about the inspiration for the future underground Little Tokyo/Arts District Station through collective art-making.

Guided by O’Arwisters, the event invited the public to contribute meaningful, sharable cloth, learn how to crochet with large wooden hooks in an open and supportive setting, and ultimately weave individual crocheted pieces into a larger whole.

Multiple participants brought their grandmothers (one even visiting from Kyoto) and in some cases, their kids and grandmothers — three generations of crocheting family members! The act of co-creation was said to be therapeutic by attendees and served as a metaphor for our interdependence as a a community.

Keep an eye out for the finished crocheted work, which will be on display throughout Little Tokyo/Arts District neighborhoods to tell the story of a shared art-making experience and reinforce the layering of identity and culture  in Rojas’ future artwork.

Follow Metro Art on Instagram @metro.art.la to learn of future events.

Follow the artists on Instagram @clarerojasart and @ramekon.

This event was a collaboration between LA Metro Arts & Design, Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, Little Tokyo Service Center and Sustainable Little Tokyo.