After enduring weeks of frigid weather, New York City felt a warm embrace as the Year of the Fire Horse was celebrated on February 17. Chinatown’s Mott Street was alive with Lunar New Year festivities, basking in a pleasant 45-degree-Fahrenheit day. Illustrator and educator Sarula Bao brought a fresh perspective to a traditional Chinese folk art by parading a handcrafted horse puppet, signaling goodwill.
This year, Bao was chosen for the Lantern Residency, an annual program by cultural nonprofit Think!Chinatown (T!C), which encourages artists to reinterpret the iconic paper lantern for the Lunar New Year. Bao’s project drew inspiration from bu zha (布扎), a fiber art linked to the Bai ethnic group from China’s Yunnan province. Historically, bu zha are small silk animal crafts, often depicting zodiac animals, meant to bring luck and ward off evil.
Embracing this precise art form, Bao crafted a large bu zha in the shape of a horse, embellished with colorful appliqué. Her creation, “Xiao Baoma (小宝马),” meaning “Little Precious Horse,” danced above the crowds along Mott Street, contrasting the overcast skies with bursts of vibrant confetti.
“I aimed to incorporate traditional Chinese New Year symbols like mandarins, fish, coins, and the yuanbao for luck and prosperity,” Bao shared with Hyperallergic. Her design also featured traditional floral motifs from her bu zha research. Bao, who leads Endless Editions at the Brooklyn Art Book Fair, often blends her visual language with research in her work.
“Celebrating Lunar New Year here in the U.S., I wanted to add personal symbols of luck and joy, such as stars, music notes, and a house, which represents the feeling of home,” she explained. Bao’s creation will grace Mott Street again during the Super Saturday lantern celebration on February 28. T!C plans additional cultural and culinary events through early March to honor the Year of the Horse.
