Weaving Futures Workshop with Blessyl Buan

Date: Saturday, September 20, 2-4:30 PM

Location: 1106 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON

Register HERE

The Weaving Futures workshop is FREE to attend. 

In the Weaving Futures workshop, multidisciplinary artist Blessyl Buan invites participants to explore and engage with traditional Philippine weaving of banig, reinterpreted in a contemporary context using dried palm and upcycled materials. This hands-on community workshop invites participants to contribute to a growing tapestry; The Dream Weave. Workshop attendees will:

Learn: Basic techniques of hand-weaving including the use of natural fibers and upcycled materials. You will write your dreams into the palms and weave it into a mat which will become part of a larger tapestry.

Create: Contribute to the growing tapestry for The Dream Weave installation, a large-scale participatory artwork that will be showcased at Nuit Blanche 2025.

Materials: All materials will be provided. We will be working with upcycled rice bags collected from Tagpuan, a local Filipino restaurant, dried palm, and other natural fibers. Participants are welcome to bring their own natural fibers and upcycled materials if preferred.

Below Image: Blessyl Buan, by Ryan Buan - Ivivi Media

Blessyl Buan is a Toronto-born multidisciplinary artist working in dance, painting and fibre. Rooted in her Filipino heritage and guided by kapwa — the interconnectedness of self, nature, and the cosmos — her work explores cultural memory, healing and belonging. She brings deep knowledge of the body and care into her art, shaped by a Kinesiology degree, as a Doctor of Chiropractic and her experience as a mother. Projects include "BABAElan", originally commissioned by the Art Gallery of Ontario and remounted for Dusk Dances 2025 and “The Dream Weave” for Nuit Blanche 2025.

Drawing from Filipino weaving traditions, in this workshop participants will use markers, paint, and sustainable materials such as rice bags and dried palm to express their hopes through hands-on creation. This workshop sets the stage for Nuit Blanche in North York, where the evolving installation will be unveiled as a living archive of collective vision and belonging, as part of the Collective Composition exhibition.

If any access needs including ASL interpretation, please reach out by September 5th to Jenn Goodwin by email jenn.goodwin@toronto.ca

Registration is required to attend the Weaving Futures workshop. See here to register!