Awe at the Fingertips: Miao Embroidery’s First Breath in the U.S.（ 指尖上的敬畏，跨越千山万水的凝视）

On February 1, 2024, our exhibition Awe at the Fingertips — Art from the Miao People opened at the Orange Art Center in Virginia, USA.

It was my first time curating a Miao embroidery exhibition in the U.S.—and perhaps the first time these ancestral stitches stood fully in the light of a North American gallery. I began not with technique, but with reverence: Miao embroidery is not decorative. It is spiritual. It holds the breath of a people.

The opening was full of warmth and energy. But what struck me most was how slowly people looked. They paused, lingered, leaned in—really seeing. Some told me they could feel a connection, even across oceans and cultures.

Due to logistical delays, we didn’t have all our wall labels in place on the first two days. Still, the audience responded deeply. They said Miao embroidery felt different from anything they’d seen. They could “read” it—intuitively.

That’s when I remembered what we call it: “a book without words.”

In that quiet gallery space, on foreign soil, Miao embroidery began to breathe. It didn’t explain. It simply existed. And that was enough.

It was not a showcase. It was a moment of recognition—when symbols stitched by mountain women spoke across time, across borders, and were finally heard.

2024年2月1日，苗绣展《Awe at the Fingertips — Art from the Miao People》在美国弗吉尼亚州的Orange Art Center如期启幕。

这是我在美国策划的第一场苗绣展，也是苗绣第一次在北美以系统性的方式被展出。这个展览从一个简单的念头开始：苗绣，不只是工艺品，它是指尖上的敬畏，是一个民族的精神表达。

开幕那天，观众很多，现场非常热烈。但让我印象最深的，是他们看得很慢、很仔细。他们安静地站在每一块刺绣前凝视，仿佛正试图听懂它在说什么。

展览前两天，展签和说明因为物流等问题还没有全部准备好。但即便没有文字解释，许多观众还是说他们“看懂了”——他们看懂了纹样之间的节奏，看懂了颜色里的情绪，看懂了这些图形不只是装饰，而是某种跨越语言的人类共通之物。

那一刻，我真的相信了：“无字天书”是可以被读懂的。

有人说，这是一次展览。但我更愿意说，这是苗绣在异国土地上的第一次呼吸。