Join the Weave is a free community-focused project on MOCA’s Floor 1 that invites you to use a large standing loom to contribute to a communally-made tapestry. This activation is inspired by Kimsooja’s Dimensions of a Needle, further expanding on the exhibition’s themes of connection, movement, memory, and belonging through the collective act of making.
Kimsooja’s Meta Painting on Floor 3 looks closely at the process behind the materials used in art-making. Harvesting her own flaxseed, she had it woven and stretched into linen canvases, a material essential to the tradition of painting. Engaging with these themes of materiality, experience how individual small threads can be woven together to create a more expansive work of art.
As visitors like you add to the loom over the course of the exhibition, the final piece will come together as a physical reflection of the experiences and stories of everyone who contributed. Add your thread and help weave the story.
No weaving experience required. On-site instructions and materials are provided; you may also bring your own to add. Don’t miss the all-ages take-home activity. Children must be supervised by an adult at all times.
What is Weaving?
Weaving is how we make many textiles! Clothing, blankets, and even art can be woven by hand or machine. When weaving by hand, a loom is used to interlace threads or yarn.
There are two parts of woven fabric: the warp and the weft. The warp is the vertical yarn held to the loom under tension. The weft is the yarn that’s drawn horizontally through the warp yarn.
MOCA’s loom is a community artwork, open to the public. Use the yarn in the basket to weave your part of it!
How to Use the Loom
Step 1
Choose a piece of yarn, ribbon, string, or fabric.
Step 2
Starting on either side of the loom, weave your material over one vertical thread, then under the next. Continue in this pattern across the loom until you reach the other side.
Step 3
Gently push your completed row up into place, pressing it against the previous row.
Step 4
Add another row or leave space for someone else to contribute!
