Origami Unfolded

Peabody Essex Museum

By: PEM - Nov 03, 2026

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) invites visitors to explore origami's universal appeal and exciting evolution. This multigenerational exhibition in PEM’s Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center highlights origami not only as a dynamic art form, but also as a key influence on innovations in science, engineering and math. Origami Unfolded is on view at PEM from December 5, 2026 through September 17, 2028.

Origami is an artform with the mesmerizing ability to transform flat materials into three-dimensional sculptures through folding alone; nothing is added or taken away in the process. One of the earliest recorded origami models is a paper crane that originated in Japan about 500 years ago. Today, folding 1,000 paper cranes has become an international symbol for peace and hope. In the nearly two decades since PEM first featured the crowd-pleasing exhibition Origami Now! (2007-2008), contemporary origami has continued to expand into exciting new styles of expression and invention.

“Origami is a gateway into a transformative realm of creativity and problem-solving, helping us reimagine our relationship with the world and spurring innovation,” said Jane Winchell, PEM’s Sarah Fraser Robbins Director of the Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center. “From transformable robots to more environmentally sustainable designs, real-world applications for origami have exploded in recent years. In fact, we live in a folded world. Nature has favored origami-like solutions for billions of years. Even our proteins and genetic code (DNA) depend upon correct folding. In Origami Unfolded, we explore the many ways this design form continues to shape our world.”

Origami is undergoing a silent revolution. Engineers, mathematicians and scientists are leaning into origami to tackle real-world problems, from origami-inspired emergency shelters to breakthroughs in robotics, medicine and sustainability. Folding principles have become fundamental to the design of spacecraft, fashion, medical devices, packaging and architecture.

Visitors will discover works from leading origami artists, including Michael G. LaFosse, a Haverhill, Massachusetts resident and one of the world’s top origami masters. Japanese grand master Akira Yoshizawa (1911-2005) designed at least 50,000 origami models over his lifetime. He never sold a single one, calling them “his children.”

After seeing Yoshizawa’s origami in a 1970 article, LaFosse began designing origami models at age 13. Yoshizawa and LaFosse later became friends, collaborating on exhibitions in the United States, Japan and France.

OrigamiMore origami artists are alive today than at any time in history. Many openly share their designs and teach their innovations in person, in publications and online. Although origami originated in Asia, many of the more than 30 artists and contributors featured in Origami Unfolded are local to New England. For some, origami is part of an immigration story: Giang Dinh, whose family lost everything in the Vietnam War, remembered a few origami models he learned from a book as a child. He moved to the United States in 1989 to continue studying architecture and rediscovered origami in 1996 as a creative outlet. He is now well known for his elegant folded sculptures such as Dreamer.

Artists expand the world of origami by employing the principles of geometry, testing the limits of paper folding and exploring alternative materials. Floral Embrace comes from a series of curved-crease origami works MIT professor Erik Demaine collaborated on with his father, artist Martin Demaine. The artwork interprets nature by translating the mathematical pattern of sunflower spirals into folded paper. Erik Demaine is a leading innovator in the field of computational origami, which combines the mathematics of paper folding, computer science and art.

In addition to showcasing origami masterworks, PEM will highlight innovations in contemporary origami and design, including origami-inspired projects by students at the Rhode Island School of Design. Interactive displays and video tutorials will give visitors of all ages hands-on opportunities to investigate and participate in the artistic process of origami. Visitors can fold origami to take home or add to an upcoming community art installation in the windows of 179 Essex Street, Salem, just down the street from the museum.

Origami works will also be popping up around PEM to connect Origami Unfolded with the museum’s collection. Visitors can pick up an Origami Quest activity booklet inside the exhibition to find five pop-up origami displays around the museum. Outside, a nearby window display at 179 Essex Street showcases an origami quilt folded by Japanese middle school students from the 2025 Salem–Ota Cultural Exchange, on view through January 2027.

SUSTAINABILITY

Origami Unfolded is part of PEM’s Climate + Environment Initiative. This ongoing initiative about our changing relationship with the more-than-human world is designed to spark conversation, motivate action and inspire creative solutions. Origami Unfolded primarily features works by local talent and exhibits locally available art to reduce the carbon impacts of packaging, shipping and travel. The museum used energy-efficient lighting, repurposed existing walls and chose paints not containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Learn more about our initiative at pem.org/climate.

Opening Day Celebration

Saturday, December 5, 10:30 am–4 pm

Join us as we celebrate the opening of Origami Unfolded! Watch origami artists show off their skills during demonstrations, touch folded pieces at our discovery cart and learn to fold your own paper creations. All activities are included with admission. Preregistration is required for some workshops. Learn more on our events page.

Origami Hermit Crab: Beginner

10:30–11:30 am | Create Space Studio

This workshop with artist Beth Johnson guides you through creating a detailed origami shell and the clever little hermit crab that calls it home.

Whale on Water: Low-Intermediate

11:45 am–12:45 pm | Create Space Studio

This workshop with artist Beth Johnson combines classic origami traditions with a brief introduction to the more abstract techniques of wet folding and curved folding

Hedgehog Series: Intermediate

3–4 pm | Create Space Studio

This workshop introduces participants to a highly versatile, corrugated origami pattern.

Origami Artist Demonstrations

11 am–1 pm, 2–3 pm | Main Atrium

Watch origami in real time with artists whose work is featured in the exhibition!

Lecture and Q+A with Bernie Peyton: Why Origami?

1–1:45 pm | Morse Auditorium

Master origami artist Bernie Peyton explores origami-inspired designs in aerospace engineering, medical devices and architecture and the sparks that led to their creation.

Social Media

Follow along and share your experience on social media using #PEMOrigami.