Mao Lor: A Journey through Hmoob Paj Ntaub
February 10 – May 26, 2024
Mao Lor is a Hmoob artist and maker who has been creating Hmoob paj ntaub (Hmong textiles) that convey the vitality of Hmoob art, history, and culture for over forty years. The exhibition features three-dozen of Lor’s intricately hand sewn and embroidered artworks, which include pieces using traditional methods and patterns and those that reflect contemporary innovations used for storytelling.
About the Exhibition
As a teenager, Lor was forced to flee following the end of the Secret War in Laos and the Vietnam War in 1975. She learned the skills and concepts for creating paj ntaub from her mother, beginning in a refugee camp in Thailand, and she continued to practice and hone her craft after immigrating to Green Bay, Wisconsin in the 1980s. Since making Green Bay home, Mao has created hundreds of textiles which she and her family have sold at art fairs throughout Wisconsin and the midwest, including the Paine.
The exhibition is a reflection on Hmoob paj ntaub. Built through collaboration, it is co-curated by historian Chong Moua and artist Ger Xiong and includes a documentary video by Soua Vang. By centering Mao’s work, and highlighting a new co-created contemporary piece by Lor and Xiong, the exhibit uses Hmoob paj ntaub to ask questions about the past, present, and future of Hmoob art, storytelling, and representation.
The exhibition will serve as the backdrop for the Rooms of Blooms floral show, presented the first two weekends in March.
Don Stolley 
Don Stolley 
Don Stolley 
Don Stolley Sponsored by
Lead Sponsor
Supported in part by
Mao Lor: A Journey through Hmoob Paj Ntaub is supported by ArtsCore, a partnership between the Paine Art Center and Gardens, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh Area School District, and Appleton Area School District which supports teaching in and through the arts. The exhibition is funded in part by a grant from Wisconsin Humanities, with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the State of Wisconsin, and by the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, with funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Become a Paine Member!
The best way to experience Mao Lor: A Journey through Hmoob Paj Ntaub and all the offerings of the Paine is by becoming a Member. You’ll receive free admission to the exhibition, discounted reservations and purchases, and invitations to educational programs and special events for an entire year!