The Origami USA annual convention is for people of all ages and levels of experience. This year’s event was held at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel in Manhattan and was as inspiring as any other convention I’ve attended. The video covers these three days of fun and origami education..
CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS
TWO SPECIAL GUESTS
Francesco Mancini from Italy and Pei Haozheng from China generously shared their skill and creativity in teaching their models in live class instruction.
CLASSES
Dozens of teachers shared their origami expertise and experience in classes teaching origami figures that ranged from very simple to super complex. Some teachers taught origami-relevant topics (mathematics and papermaking). Others led workshops on applied origami such as in balloon sculpting and paper airplanes!
ARTIST TRADING CARDS
An Artist Trading Card (ATC) exchange, organized by Jean Gillette, attracted about 45 participants. All participating artists created a unique set of handmade cards (2.5 x 3.5 inches) equal to the number of people preregistered for the event. These cards are then distributed among all participants in such a way that everyone is left with a collection of cards representing the work of each artist.
ANNUAL MEETING AND AWARDS
During the annual meeting members of the board spoke to their respective areas of responsibility within the Origami USA organization. This was followed by the presentation of Teaching, Innovation, and Volunteering awards. This year’s award recipients were the following:
- Gerardo Gacharná was presented the Innovation Award 2023
- Arlene Gorchov received the Teaching Award for 2024
- Leyla Torres received the Teaching Award for 2022
- Maria Velázquez received the Volunteer Award for 2024
WORLD-CLASS ORIGAMI EXHIBITION
The exhibition included a broad representation of masterful subject matter (figures, flowers, abstracts, geometrics, tesselations, modular) from creators from all places and all ages, including an impressive selection of origami by children as young as six.
EXTRA GAMES AND FUN ACTIVITIES
- A paper airplane contest and an opportunity to show off skills in folding and flying!
- PinsPLUS Exchange where people can exchange origami pins and all things origami.
- The Amazing Race Origami Style (TAROS) (Directed by Kathleen Sheridan)
- Teamwork and Oversize Folding of origami models in a race against the clock (45 minutes).
THE ORIGAMI SOURCE
OUSA Convention store offering a wide range of origami books, gifts, objects, and hard-to-find origami papers.
CELEBRATION DINNER
On Monday, the last night of the convention, there was a lavish “We Survived” dinner at Carmine’s Italian restaurant, in Times Square.
Dear Leyla, thank you for posting the fantastic slide show of the 2024 OUSA convention in NYC. I had a great time there — learned so many new techniques and met so many friendly, inspiring fellow folders. Your slide show refreshed all my good memories of the event. It was my first live OUSA convention but I will defnitely be going to more in the future.
I am so happy you liked the video, Teresa. It has been many years for me and always fun. Lots of old and new friends. I hope you can attend over and over again!
😂 Felicitaciones Leyla!! Hermosa oportunidad debe ser participar de un evento lleno de creatividad!!
Gracias Adriana. Bienvenida a Origami Spirit. Pronto tendremos esta publicación traducida al español también. 😊