Jakkai Siributr. Cultura (im)materiale

Curated by Veronica Caciolli and Valentina Gensini
October 24, 2025 – January 18, 2026

The exhibition Cultura (Im)materiale by Jakkai Siributr at MAD Murate Art District and the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology in Florence is the artist’s first solo show in Italy and marks the third year of collaboration between the two institutions.

Jakkai Siributr (Bangkok, 1969) is a renowned Thai artist working with fabric, known for his iconic use of embroidery, sewing, and quilting. The curatorial approach focuses on two main directions developed by the artist: the material, consisting of the composition of tapestries and embroidered garments, enriched by collaborations with various communities; and the symbolic or immaterial, performed through the creation of artifacts that recover and preserve traditional textile practices at risk of extinction, promoting activation, exchange, and cultural encounter.

For this double event in Florence at the two institutions, the project features three distinct paths: at the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology, Jakkai was invited to engage with the figure of Galileo Chini (1873–1956), a prominent artist, decorator, and ceramist who was drawn to the East, where he resided for many years and created numerous public works, particularly in Thailand. Part of his Siamese collection was also donated to the Museum of Anthropology, where it is currently on display. In the room dedicated to the Tuscan artist, Jakkai presents a new site-specific garment alongside part of his work Transient Shelter (2014), which focuses on the reflection of the relationship between life and death, the reversal of values, matter, and spirit.

At MAD, a selection of Jakkai’s works, including tapestries, garments, and environmental installations created from 2014 to the present, will be exhibited for the first time in Italy. The exhibition also features a collective work that the artist produced in collaboration with two different local female communities: young migrant women involved in the collaboration with Nosotras and the Casa delle Donne (House of Women), and the intergenerational group of embroiderers from the Impara l’arte con il Punto Tavarnelle project, promoted by the Municipality of Barberino Tavarnelle.

The project is realized with the support of Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio Firenze and with the backing of Regione Toscana – Toscanaincontemporanea 2025 and GiovaniSì.

We would like to thank the following partners for their collaboration: Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology – University Museum System of the University of Florence, Pro-loco Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Nosotras Onlus Association, and Flowers Gallery.

Special thanks to the participants from House of Women of Florence, Isabella Mancini, and the intergenerational community of women embroiderers: Tiziana Bagni, Sara Bagnoli, Manuela Berti, Luisa Broccoletti, Stefania Brunetti, Edi Calugi, Patrizia Canestrini, Laura Coco, Franca Conforti, Maria Canocchi, Elisa Cappellini, Maria Luisa Cecconi, Paola Ciuffi, Antonella Conti, Maria Antonietta Curcio, Grazia Daddi, Alessandra Del Bene, Antonella Di Biase, Simona Falsini, Patrizia Fornai, Stefania Franci, Stefania Giunti, Paola Giuntini, Silvia Gualtieri, Paola Guccione, Katiuscia Iacopozzi, Laura Lombardini, Caterina Manetti, Isabella Mauro, Marcella Meucci, Patrizia Meucci, Anna Nannoni, Sabrina Pacciani, Serena Pecci, Marilena Pellegrino, Sabina Pelli, Nicoletta Rosi, Patrizia Rosini, Sonia Rossetti, Silvia Sebastiani, Lucia Staderini, Loredana Talluri, Sabrina Ticci, Antonella Travertini, Beatrice Turchi, Tiziana Turchi.

We would also like to thank the students from the Curatorial and Art Education courses: Jacopo Bonella, Aurora Primitivi, Caterina Morinelli, Guenda Rossi, Silvia Novati, Angelica Solinas, Anna Tulissi and from the New Expressive Languages course: Maura Bazzi, Francesca Morabito, Heesun Moon of the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence.

For more information: info.mad@musefirenze.it