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January Hours: RBG Centre will remain CLOSED through January as we prepare for Alice in Bloomland. Hendrie Park remains open for Members and Teahouse patrons only. Rock Garden open daily. Details at rbg.ca/hours

Fibre Arts Exhibit: ‘Of Wonders, Wild and New’

Accessible Event

Date & Time:

Feb 1 to Mar 30, Tuesdays to Sundays

Location:

RBG Centre (680 Plains Rd W)

Types:

Art in the Gardens, Drop In

Length:

At Your Leisure

Admission:

Pre-Registration Required

Event Description

‘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

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)

Exceptions:

  • 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.

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

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.