North Texas sisters show off global mission through origami at Galleria Dallas installation
24. April 2025
A colorful art installation is now on display at Galleria Dallas, but it is about much more than beauty. It is the work of two North Texas sisters who turned a family tradition into a global mission.
CBS News Texas 
Katherine Adams and her sister Isabelle have both always loved origami.
“We actually learned origami from my dad, who is half Japanese,” said Katherine Adams, co-founder of Paper for Water. “It was something we did together as a family.”
That family tradition took on a new purpose when Katherine was just 5 years old and her sister Isabelle was 8. After learning about the global water crisis, the sisters decided to make a difference, one fold at a time.
Their story was covered back in 2014 when they began fundraising by selling origami creations to raise money for clean water. Their original goal was to raise $500.
“Two months into the project, we raised $10,000 and funded a whole water project in Ethiopia,” Adams said.
That effort grew into Paper for Water, a nonprofit that has since funded clean water projects in more than 20 countries across four continents.
In recent years, the sisters have expanded their work to include large-scale origami art installations. Their biggest one yet is now hanging above the Galleria Dallas ice rink.
The display, called “Folding the Future,” features hundreds of origami stars, each nearly three feet tall.
“It is going to be 250 stars. It is very labor-intensive,” Adams said.
The full installation took about 1,000 volunteer hours to complete.
This Saturday, Paper for Water will also host a Water Walk inside the Galleria, where participants will carry water jugs in solidarity with the millions of people around the world who make the journey daily.
But Katherine is always reminded, it all started with a single piece of paper, a message, and a call to action.
“Everyone can do something to help other people and make the world a better place,” Adams said.
