ABOUT
WEAVE Parramatta (2009–2025)

A flagship model for community engagement through contemporary fibre practice

WEAVE Parramatta was a long-running community engagement initiative founded by Creative Producer Kiri Morcombe in 2009 in collaboration with Parramatta Artists' Studios (PAS). Established in response to community demand following an initial textile project, WEAVE evolved from a small experimental gathering into one of Australia's longest-running contemporary fibre community programs.

Over sixteen years, WEAVE demonstrated how sustained creative participation can strengthen community connections, celebrate cultural diversity and create meaningful pathways for artistic development. The program brought together people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds through contemporary textiles and fibre practice, creating opportunities to share stories, honour cultural traditions, learn new skills and build lasting relationships through collective making.

Presented as part of the annual Parramatta Artists' Studios program and supported by Create NSW and Parramatta City Council, WEAVE offered free artist-led workshops, talks, excursions and public programs that connected participants with leading contemporary fibre practitioners from across Australia. Alongside skill development, the program created opportunities for participants to exhibit their work, share their own cultural knowledge and develop confidence as artists, makers and community leaders.

More than a workshop series, WEAVE became a trusted cultural gathering where participants returned year after year. Through consistency and care, the program fostered deep relationships, encouraged intergenerational exchange and built a vibrant community centred on creativity, belonging and mutual respect.

Importantly, the impact of WEAVE extended well beyond Parramatta. Throughout its sixteen-year history, the program demonstrated the value of long-term, artist-led community engagement and helped establish contemporary fibre practice as a powerful vehicle for cultural connection and social inclusion. As interest in community weaving and fibre practice grew across Australia, similar initiatives emerged in metropolitan and regional communities, affirming the need for spaces where people can gather, make and connect through shared creative experiences.

The conclusion of WEAVE Parramatta as a program of Parramatta Artists' Studios marks the completion of a significant and successful chapter, not the end of the model itself. Its legacy is reflected in the communities it strengthened, the artists it supported, the partnerships it developed and the many participants who continue to apply the skills, relationships and confidence they built through the program.

Today, WEAVE PROJECTS continues as a creative engagement methodology developed by Kiri Morcombe. Built on sixteen years of practice, the model is adaptable to a wide range of community contexts—from metropolitan centres to regional towns—and can be tailored to reflect the unique cultural identity, aspirations and priorities of each place.

At its heart, WEAVE is not simply about textiles or fibre. It is a framework for bringing people together through creative participation. By creating welcoming spaces where making becomes a catalyst for conversation, cultural exchange and relationship-building, the model supports communities to strengthen social connections, celebrate diversity and develop the confidence to shape their own creative futures.

Whether delivered through workshops, artist residencies, community projects, cultural programs or long-term creative initiatives, the WEAVE model demonstrates that sustained investment in relationships through creativity can leave a lasting cultural legacy—one that is both transportable and deeply responsive to place.

Examples of workshops:

2025 WORKSHOP DATES:
14 Feb | Celine Cheung
11 April | Fei Gao and Kit Wu Bylett‍ ‍
13 June | Lissa de Sailles

2024 WORKSHOPS
Mar | Linda Brescia
Apr | Virginia Burrow
June | Jodie Munday

2023 WORKSHOPS:
Mar | Paula do Prado
Apr | Shirley Moorhouse
June | Carolyn Dance of Branching Out
Aug | Daniela Diaz
Oct | Anney Bounpraseuth
Dec | Jayne Christian

The Origins of WEAVE Parramatta

WEAVE Parramatta was founded by Kiri Morcombe in 2009 in collaboration with Parramatta Artists' Studios (PAS), following the success of a community engagement project led by internationally recognised Māori artist Dr. Maureen Lander.

Commissioned by PAS, the project explored creative engagement with Oceania communities living within the Parramatta Local Government Area. Kiri coordinated community participation and program delivery, working alongside Dr. Lander to facilitate a series of collaborative mat-making workshops that brought together Pacific and Māori communities. The project culminated in the community exhibition ParraMATariki, celebrating collective making, cultural exchange and shared storytelling.

While the exhibition marked the formal conclusion of the project, participants expressed a strong desire for the workshops—and the relationships they had fostered—to continue. Recognising the value of an ongoing space for creative connection, Parramatta Artists' Studios invited Kiri to develop a long-term community engagement program that responded directly to this emerging need.

From this community-led beginning, WEAVE Parramatta was established.

Over the following sixteen years, Kiri conceived, curated, produced and led the strategic development of the program. with the support of PAS, developing an evolving model of contemporary fibre practice that brought together artists, communities and audiences through workshops, artist talks, exhibitions, excursions and collaborative projects. The program became recognised not only for its artistic outcomes but also for its sustained approach to cultural participation, relationship-building and community development.

As WEAVE matured, its governance also evolved. The establishment of the WEAVE Curatorium introduced a collaborative curatorial model that expanded the program's networks, leadership and cultural perspectives. Bringing together artists, cultural practitioners and community voices, the Curatorium enriched the annual program while ensuring WEAVE continued to reflect the diversity, creativity and aspirations of its community.

The evolution of WEAVE Parramatta demonstrates how listening to community, investing in long-term relationships and embedding creative leadership can transform a single engagement project into a significant and enduring model for cultural development.

Please note, WEAVE Parramatta is no longer conducting regular workshops. If you would like to talk to me about a specific project, please reach out!


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