"Pocket Club" Pockets change a garment. They carry your phone, wallet, keys and other objects of identity and protection that you want to have with you and often need as you navigate the world. However, many pants, shorts, and dresses–especially those designed for and marketed to femmes–do not have any pockets, or instead include small pouches that are more decorative than functional. These pocket-limited clothes are often sold at higher prices than similar clothes designed for men, which often have deeper pockets. Not only are pockets an issue of utility and comfort, but also social aesthetics and gender equity. This workshop seeks to highlight and subvert these inequities while enabling people to add bigger pockets to their clothes. In this workshop, participants will learn how to alter clothes to make their pockets larger. They will also be taught how to add pockets to garments that are missing them. We will figure out how to source functional pockets from damaged or recycled clothes and add them to other items, as well as how to design, cut, and install new pockets from a fabric of your choosing. Together, we will discuss the cultural, personal, and political significance of pockets.

This workshop is lead by Sam Toabe a curator, art historian, and artist based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are the Gallery Director of the University Hall Gallery at the University of Massachusetts Boston, as well as the Director of Arts on the Point, curatorial posts they’ve held since 2017. In the fall of 2023, they designed and taught a graduate level course at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design entitled Curatorial Practices. Their research and writing focus on alternative curatorial practices across a variety of periods and geographies (looking specifically at artist curated exhibitions and events), non-canonical art histories, and the advancement of cultural plurality in our global, visual lexicons. Toabe’s recently rekindled art practice explores social practice art, acts of subversive service, and gift-giving, as well as ephemeral and installation art. Toabe earned their M.A. in the History of Art, Architecture, and Museum Studies from Boston University in 2015 and B.F.A. from the Studio for Interrelated Media at The Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2011.