There is an endless river. My hometown lies at one end, while I stand at the ever-extending other.

Born into a lineage of four generations of Xiaoshan lacemakers - a craft introduced by European missionaries over a century ago – At the age of 14, I moved to the United States, where an international environment expanded my understanding of lace as both a personal memory and a cultural artifact. The complexity of lace is deeply rooted in me, and I am constantly aware of multilayered narratives underneath of “tradition” and “heritage”.

I blend inherited craft knowledge with contemporary artistic strategies to critique notions of tradition and hybridity. My work often utilizes traditional techniques like lace-making, weaving, and ikat-inspired dyeing to challenge the boundaries between craft and fine art. For example, I incorporated fragmented ikat-dyed threads into lace structures. Through this, I explore themes of hybridity, ecological sustainability, and the socio-economic roles of craft in both historical and contemporary contexts. 

Through site-specific installations and collaborative projects with local craftswomen, I examine how traditional techniques can adapt to modern ecological and social contexts. My research adopts an empirical approach, focusing on qualitative methods to collect first-hand data essential for exploring the questions such as: How can the structural hollowness of lace embody narratives of cultural hybridity? How can material processes reflect the intersections of ecology and identity?

Rivers Qinnan Zhu (She/Her) is a visual artist, educator, and cultural lace maker living and working between Tokyo and Chicago. Her practice draws from textile histories, ecological entanglements, and familial memory—often paying attention to lace-making traditions from her hometown of Xiaoshan, China, with experimental material processes. She received an M.F.A. in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2023 and a B.F.A. in Studio Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2020, where she majored in Fiber and minored in Book Arts.

She is the recipient of the 2025 Athena Fund, the Clay Morrison Scholarship from SAIC, and the Lenore G. Tawney Foundation Scholarship from MICA. Group and solo exhibitions of her work have been included at The Art Institute of Chicago, The University Art Museum in Tokyo, and Cleve Carney Museum of Art, and ARC gallery in Chicago, She has been an artist-in-residence at the Ucross Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, CAMP Residency in Aulus-les-Bains, Kurume Kasuri Residency at Sakata Orimono in Fukuoka, and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

When not in the studio, she grows Chinese Jute and makes natural fiber with her family in Xiaoshan and enjoys the time with her Xiaoshan lace community across generations..

Contact: riverscichlids@gmail.com