Client: Choi Shine Architects

Overview

ARIZONA! is a hand-crocheted lace ribbon measuring 8 feet wide and more than 600 feet long. It elegantly meanders over and around the Arizona Canal. This massive installation was created by Boston-based artists Choi Shine Architects with the assistance of more than 250 volunteers.

Goals

Canal Convergence is a 10-day outdoor public art event where Scottsdale Public Art commissions local, national, and international artists to create large-scale art installations in and around the Arizona Canal at the Scottsdale Waterfront. ARIZONA!'s design is unique to the canal, with its narrow passages and organic curvature resembling the state of Arizona's natural slot canyons.

Process

Scottsdale Public Art commissioned artists Jin Choi and Thomas Shine of Choi Shine Architects to create a site-specific work for the Arizona Canal in Scottsdale, Arizona. Choi Shine Architects coordinated over 250 volunteers, who collectively donated approximately 6,650 hours of their time, to hand-crochet and sew together this massive installation. A number of hand-crocheted patterns, designed by Choi Shine, were dispersed to experienced crochet volunteers in Arizona and beyond. The volunteers worked together through meet-ups, in person and online, to complete hundreds of these intricate designs.

Additional Information

Choi Shine Architects is an internationally awarded design studio, established by Jin Choi and Thomas Shine. Their works have appeared in museums, galleries, and light festivals worldwide, including i Light Marina Bay in Singapore and the Islamic Arts Festival in Sarjah, United Arab Emirates.