COLECTIVA ABYA YALA

WEAVING OUR WAY: A COLLECTION OF COLECTIVA ABYA YALA’S WORK IN NAARM

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Saturday 8 November 6-9pm (opening night)

Sunday 9 November 11am-2pm (viewing and open gathering)

 

​208 Victoria St (enter via Elizabeth St)

Brunswick VIC

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As Latin American migrant women in Naarm (Melbourne), Colectiva Abya Yala creates from the intersections of ecofeminism, memory and migration. Their practice emerges from lived experiences of mestiza identity and a shared urgency to expose the legacies of colonial, capitalist and patriarchal violence on our bodies, territories and ecosystems. Through collective readings, songs, meals and embroidery, they weave arpilleras—a tradition born under Latin American dictatorships—as vessels of testimony, resistance and care. Their art is both political and intimate: a way to remember, heal and imagine alternative futures while confronting the complexities of being migrants on stolen land.

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Formed in 2017 in Naarm (Melbourne), Colectiva Abya Yala is a collective of Latin American migrant women working across art and research. Drawing on textile traditions, performance and collaborative practice, the group engages with ecofeminism, memory and migration from a Latin American perspective. Their projects include Weaving Water, a transdisciplinary residency between Mexico and Australia, La Fiesta de la Chakra, a documentary exploring solstice traditions, and several community events supported by the Flourish Art Recovery Grants. They have collaborated with LATIR, Blak Dot Gallery, Yo Soy Collective, Pasifika Storytellers, Make or Break Experiment and Chilean artist Anis.​​​​