In Person / Talk / Textile Industry
Join us at the Library for Arts & Culture for a hybrid exhibition and panel discussion, highlighting three textile artists and designers whose work shapes and drives culture. Curated and moderated by Chyna Cassell, the program will feature works from Sade Mims of Edas, Naima Dobbs of Nailoh Knits, and fashion designer, Mahima “Palika” Sirikulthada.
The program will open with guests engaging with selected exhibited works throughout the space, followed by a presentation of Mahima’s "i can’t cross my legs, can you?" fashion film. Chyna will moderate the panel, which will focus on the artists’ respective practices and methods, and the cultural context surrounding their works. The evening will conclude with a brief mingling session with beverages and light refreshments.
Sade Mims is a New York City–based artist and designer working at the intersection of fashion, art, and cultural storytelling. With over a decade of experience in creative and fashion direction, her practice is defined by a refined visual language, a sharp instinct for forecasting, and an ability to translate ideas into cohesive, resonant worlds.
Naima Dobbs (a.k.a. Nailoh) is a New York based musician, textile artist, and educator born and raised in Atlanta, GA. Her artistic practice intertwines electronic music, textile art, and video design in a multimedia offering she dubs Synthetwine. Her debut EP, Smile, was released in Dec 2025. She is the founder of knitwear brand, Nailoh Knits (est. 2020).
Mahima “Palika” Sirikulthada is a designer and multidisciplinary artist whose practice is compelled by fit: an ongoing exploration of how we perceive, navigate, and anchor our bodies within the world. Raised within communities where art is woven into the everyday, she carries a deep respect for making as inheritance, as resistance, and as ritual. This foundation informs works rooted in continuous exploration: learning, questioning, and allowing space for growth. For Sirikulthada, creation is both personal and political: a means of archiving lived experiences while imagining new ones. Her work moves fluidly between fashion, sculpture, and textile-based practices, grounded in materiality and the intimate relationship between body, form, and environment. She hopes to inspire through art that is deeply researched, and embedded in care, craft, and honest storytelling.
Chyna Cassell is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer, event producer, and cultural programmer. In 2021, she received a bachelor's in Global Studies from The New School. Chyna was an artist-in-residence at Casa Na Ilha Artist Residency in Ilhabela, Brazil (2021), and at Hangar Center for Artistic Research in Lisbon, Portugal (2024). She partners with several Brooklyn Public Library branches to facilitate programs including the Reel to Real short film screening series at the Library for Arts & Culture. Her work appears in IMPULSE Magazine, Omenana African Speculative Fiction Magazine, The African Film Festival Archives, Afapinen, and The Shallow Tales Review. You can stay up-to-date on her work at her website, chynacassell.com.