| Membership | Price (+HST) |
|---|---|
| Single | $85/year |
| Single Plus | $120/year |
| Family | $130/year |
| Family Plus | $175/year |
| Contributing | $300/year |
| Supporting | $600/year |
| Sustaining | $1,000/year |
| Benefactor's Circle | $2,500/year |
| Director's Circle | $5,000/year |
| President's Circle | $10,000/year |
Fibre Arts Exhibit: ‘Of Wonders, Wild and New’
Event Description
As part of the Alice in Bloomland floral showcase, fibre art exhibit “Of Wonders Wild and New” by Cobalt Connects adds yet another layer of magic to the floral fantasy.
‘Of Wonders, Wild and New’ brings together 9 contemporary fibre artists from around the world, with works that explore the broad themes of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by playing with scale, movement, wonder, dream states, other-worldly beings and the sense of being immersed in an experience.
Header image: ‘Ode to a Prairie’ by Amanda McCavour
Admission
- Admission included as part of your Alice in Bloomland tickets (time-ticketed, pre-registration required)
- In the Auditorium at RBG Centre (680 Plains Rd. W. Burlington)
Hours
- Tuesdays to Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Alice in Bloomland timed-tickets required)
- CLOSED Mondays
Exceptions:
- Open Late February 14, 28, March 14, 28: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Monday February 17 (Family Day): 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- March 8 to 16 (March Break): 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Also available as part of RBG After Dark February 20, March 20
Left to right: Amanda McCavour (front), Sienna Martz (back), Melanie Monique Rose, Fuzzy Mall, Hitoko Okada, Ina G. Dyreborg
About the Exhibit
Fibre arts are some of the earliest examples of human expression and they are inextricably connected to our natural environment. From felting in the Neolithic period to ancient Japanese braiding techniques humans have been shaping, dying, cultivating and combining fibres to tell stories, identify themselves and create beautiful works for art for thousands of years.
‘Of Wonders, Wild and New’ takes inspiration from this connection to tradition and nature here at Royal Botanical Gardens, and brings together 9 contemporary artists from around the world who continue these traditions with a twist.
Their works explore the broad themes of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by playing with scale, movement, wonder, dream states, other-worldly beings and the sense of being immersed in an experience. Beyond this, you’ll also notice common threads of reclaiming materials, the changing of seasons, time and ephemera, and so much more.
To complement the exhibition, we were pleased to commission a musical treatment by the Rheostatiscs whose playful creations will help you dive down the rabbit hole into “Of Wonders, Wild and New”.
Artists and Works
‘Los Mantos (Quilts)’
Katy Biele
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Embroidery. Materials: Reclaimed textiles, thread
‘Go ask Alice when she’s ten feet tall’
Fuzzy Mall
Hamilton, ON, Canada
Quilting. Materials: Reclaimed textiles
‘To Thread a Needle with Memories’
Gunjan Thapar (echoes)
New Delhi, Delhi, India
Embroidery. Material: embroidery thread
‘What there were, What we have and What we can loose’
Ina G. Dyreborg
København, Denmark
Manual Tufting. Material: Various yarn, thread, canvas
‘Ode to a Prairie’
Amanda McCavour
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Embroidery. Material: Embroidery thread, dissolvable fabric
‘Sewing Seeds’
Hitoko Okada
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Fibre installation. Materials: Mixed media
‘A Portal Blooms in the Cradle of Night’
Sienna Martz
Vermont, USA
Fibre Installation. Materials: Second-hand clothing, organic kapok fiber, and 100% recycled felt made from carpet fibers and yarn
Cielo Tejido
Jalisco, Mexico
Crotchet. Materials: Fishing net
Melanie Monique Rose
Regina, Saskatchewan Treaty 4 Territory
- Summer Sleeping (capote), materials: hudson bay wool blanket, needle felted wool, antler toggles, fox fur ruff
- Weight of Our Feet (capes), materials: wool blanket, needle felted wool, plant bundle dyed silk charmeuse
- HELD – Colour Stories From the Land (silk scarves), materials: eco printed and bundle dyed silk scarves
About Alice in Bloomland
Tumble down the rabbit hole into “Alice in Bloomland,” a wondrous botanical experience at Royal Botanical Gardens where reality bends and blossoms into a world of curiosity. Inspired by the pages of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, this floral showcase weaves together the magic of horticulture, the whimsy of floral design, and the marvel of visual arts to create an experience straight out of a dream. From February 1 to March 30, 2025, 25,000 blooms will unfold during this awe-inspiring exhibit.
