Around La Arpillera with Colectiva Abya Yala

Brought to you by the SSAF

Students are invited to join an arpillera-making workshop facilitated by Colectiva Abya Yala, creating a safe and creative space to explore themes such as migration, colonisation, climate change, and social and political issues. Through reading, dialogue, and reflection, participants will share knowledge, skills, and stories. Recognised across Latin America as cultural heritage, arpilleras combine embroidery and fabric scraps to tell stories that connect past, present, and future.

The workshop encourages reflection on social and environmental issues while engaging in a collective textile-making process. Participants will have the opportunity to share experiences and contribute to collaborative creative activities. No prior artistic experience is required, only a willingness to participate, connect, and create together. The workshop aims to foster cultural exchange, critical reflection, and collaborative learning.

WHEN: Wednesday 6 May, 4.30-6.30pm
WHERE: Arts Lab, Level 1, Arts and Cultural Building, Monash Road, Building 159 (MAP), next to the George Paton Gallery. 
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We are a group of Latin American migrant women who formed Colectiva Feminista de Abya Yala in Naarm (Melbourne) in 2017. Since then, we have created a space to explore Latin American perspectives on ecofeminism, embracing our mestiza, mixed cultural, identities. Together, we are driven to understand and reflect on our political memory. We seek to unpack the effects and consequences of historical violence produced by colonial, capitalist, and patriarchal systems on our bodies, our territories, and all living beings.

We meet every Wednesday at Blakademy (Blak Dot Gallery) to read, discuss, sing, prepare meals, and weave our feelings and thoughts into arpilleras. This traditional textile practice emerged during periods of dictatorship in Latin America, when women used it to communicate and denounce what could not be spoken in words. Through this process, we also navigate the complexities of our migrant identities.

Our recent projects include Weaving Waters in Mexico and Australia; La Fiesta de la Chakra, a documentary exploring winter solstice traditions from the South; and a series of workshops and community days. We have also collaborated with organisations such as LATIR, Blak Dot Gallery, Yo Soy Collective, Pasifika Storytellers, Make or Break Experiment, The Wandering Room, and Slow Festival at Viewbank College, as well as with Chilean artist Anis.

Most of our projects have been funded by Merri-bek Flourish Arts grants and Creative Australia.