USA Projects

Yarn Bombing Los Angeles is a group of guerrilla knitters who have been collaborating since 2010 on public installations in the urban environment and at 18th Street Arts Center, Museum of Contemporary Art, Craft and Folk Art Museum and more. By developing highly visible art projects that anyone can contribute to, we aim to break down the boundary between high art and low art, fine art and craft. By creating art on the streets, we make art available to anyone in the city, not just those who attend museums regularly. We’re changing the face of public art, traditionally understood as large bronze sculptures to include self initiated, temporary, craft-based works.

YBLA has teamed up with crocheters all over the world to cover the facade of the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles, California, in granny squares. This will be a public art project that will make a colorful statement and feature the work of people from all over the world, artists and non-artists alike.

We’re covered on the fabrication front, with over 230 crafters signed up to help crochet a total of 4700 squares. However, this project isn’t going to install itself! There is still the nitty gritty of sewing all 4700 squares together, organizing our list of participants, sending out press releases, meeting with architects, and attaching the final installation to the facade of the Craft and Folk Art Museum. At about $15,000, the installation will be the most expensive component of the project.

That’s where you come in. We are in need of funds to afford contractors, insurance, and any additional material costs associated with installation. Installation calls for hiring engineers to oversee the process, contractors to handle the mechanics, unexpected costs like fire retardant and liability insurance so that our project is building-safe. Additionally, we would like to publish a catalog and additional print materials to commemorate this groundbreaking project. We applied for some grants, but we also need to raise at least $8,000 to able to pay everyone who is involved in the installation and documentation - contractors, structural engineers, architects, photographers, cinematographers, graphic designers - for their time and labor. Additional funds raised will go toward completing the roof area of the building, which is right now not part of the installation plan.

For many of us, this is the first time we will participate in a large scale museum installation. CAFAM: Granny Squared, will transform the field of public art by making it participatory and craft-based.  On a conceptual level, the project aims transform the architecture and identity of a museum building by playing with scale, color and texture. Ultimately, CAFAM: Granny Squared will provide a large injection of color in the city, and empower/inspire others to take up their needles in a protest against colorless, sterile urban space.

Your donation will help us reach our goal of $8,000 to realize this highly ambitious and participatory public art project, and set a new precedent for the field of temporary, self initiated public art. Thank you very much for your support, and yarn on!

Love,Yarn Bombing Los Angeles