Naomi Lawrence is a NYC Fiber Artist based in East Harlem. She works with acrylic yarn to create oversized 2-Dimensional crochet flowers, trees and wildlife. The site-specific installations are sewn onto chain-link fences in parks and public spaces.
Originally from England, UK she studied Floral Design at the University of Arts London and worked as a freelance events florist for some of Londons top floral designers including REBEL REBEL and Yan Skates.
Her first installation created in 2014, Blue Iris endeared her to the East Harlem community that she now calls home. Her installations take a few months to create but are generally approved by the city to stay in place for up to one year. They are often washed and refurbished to be reinstalled in various locations such as school playgrounds. Public engagement is a primary goal of each installation. The works become part of the urban landscape.
Naomi was nominated in 2020 as a “Hero of the Pandemic” for her community art and work by Community Works and New Heritage Theatre Group:
Harlem is . . . Healing celebrates Naomi Lawrence, who is also known professionally as NaomiRag, for creating acrylic yarn works in unusual places in East Harlem, just to raise the spirits of the neighborhood. For her, it is labor of long-standing. She sees herself as a “yarn bomber,” a street artist who covers unwanted, unusual public spots like fences with colorful touches that bring a smile to the face of viewers who happen upon them.
“What’s behind my public art is always about some kind of healing and making people smile.”
Where to Find Naomi's Work
Current Exhibitions
A Tree Grows in Harlem
Walls Ortiz Gallery
2230 Frederick Douglass Blvd., NY 10026
December 2018 – Current
Clematis Vine
Walls Ortiz Gallery/Fresh Oils Community Garden, Harlem
September 2020 – Current
Flower Peace Sign
Lexington Academy
131 East 104th Street, NY 10029
October 2020 – Current
Previous Exhibitions
#MigrationisBeautiful Monarch Butterfly
Lexington Academy
November 2019- September 2020
La Flor De Mi Madre, 24-Foot Mural
Public Art Park to Park LMCC Creative Engagement Award
Sponsored by the Public Art Initiative of the MGPA and The Durst Organization
121st Street & Park Avenue
July 2019 – June 2020
Magnolia, Hibiscus Tree
Columbus Amsterdam BID Residency – Art in the Parks
Magnolia June 21, 2017 – June 21, 2018
Hibiscus Tree September 29, 2017 – September 29, 2018
Overstating the Obvious Group Exhibition
The Yard Williamsburg curated by Deborah Oster Pannell
November 7, 2018 – January 25, 2019
Lotus, 10 Feet
Flux Art Fair Marcus Garvey Park
May 2016 – April 2017
Orange Lily
Who is my Neighbor? Group Exhibition
Walls Ortiz Gallery
Sept 12 2014 – Jan 2015
White Lily/Crocus/Iris
10027: A Travelling Performance Through West Harlem
by Dances for a Variable Population
June 11-13 2015
Australia Sunflower
50 Years of Flower Power
Prudence Mapstone Installation at Sydney Fibrefest
June 17-21 2015