Umyuangvigkaq is a place to gather ideas. This free event – a round table conversation and durational sewing bee – invites Indigenous thinkers, artists, allies and accomplices to engage in generous dialogue and action as we stitch together a quilt of conversation, ideas and fabrics, weaving at the intersections of Indigenous Australian and American cultures.

Come with a ready heart. Led by a council of three Indigenous artists, educators, curators and facilitators – Vicki Couzens, a Gunditjmara woman from the Western Districts of Victoria; Genevieve Grieves, a Worimi woman from Southeast Australia based in Melbourne; and Emily Johnson, a Yup’ik woman from Alaska based in Lenapehoking (NYC) – all participants will be welcome to listen, speak and participate. New provocations will be offered by the council throughout the day encouraging personal reflection, critical interventions, and conversation.

Umyuangvigkaq joins the long history of sewing in lineages across cultures, claiming the ongoing power of this practice. It is part of a large-scale experiment in public engagement and quilting that has been shared by audiences around the world. Quilts created on the day will contribute to a 375-square-metre quilt designed by Ojibwe textile artist Maggie Thompson, which has been a centrepiece of Emily Johnson’s all-night outdoor performance gathering, Then a Cunning Voice and A Night We Spend Gazing at Stars.

With Couzens and Grieves joining the conversation this generous project will enter a new stage in its ongoing evolution.

Come for a stitch or stay all day.