State Bird, 2026 — Artwork by Lisa Kokin

A piece about immigrant detention, made from 35 hand-embroidered state birds and vintage textiles. Lisa Kokin recently came upon a series of 35 hand-embroidered state birds and bought them with a vague idea of making a piece about freedom. Soon after, she began researching immigrant detention prisons and realized that this would be her subject. For each state, she chose an image of a detention prison to pair with its bird, along with vintage handkerchiefs and other textiles that seemed to belong with each one. This video shows Lisa paging through the finished book — a piece she thinks of as a document of the times we're living through. She would love for this work to become part of a public collection, so that in the future this history is remembered and, hopefully, not repeated. Contacts, referrals, and suggestions are gratefully accepted. More of Lisa's work: lisakokin.com #textileart #bookarts #fiberart #socialpracticeart #immigration #contemporaryart #mixedmedia