The School of Passing On : Stitching in Community with Helen Wong

Helen Wong has been a community activist since the 1980s, working in solidarity with Filipino migrant women in Germany. Since 2016, she has co-organized public sewing workshops, at the Karlsgarten 6 community center in Neukölln and the Dialog 101 community center in Mitte. There, people from diverse cultural backgrounds and with varying levels of experience come together and learn from one another through sewing, repairing, and upcycling—but also by sharing food. Eating, cooking, and sharing with one another are among life’s fundamental needs, just as is the need to connect with other communities.

For this workshop at the School of Passing On, Helen would like to share a collective, radical sewing practice that originated as a form of resistance amongst the People against the  military dictatorship in Chile: the arpillera. Using simple techniques of hand sewing, embroidery, and appliqué, as well as fabric markers, Helen invites us to tell stories and express criticism, wishes, and hopes. Together, we’ll create a textile banner on the theme of “Migration and the Development of Communities.”

During the sewing workshop, Helen will also introduce a tradition from her Filipino-Chinese heritage: the hotpot. Together, participants will prepare vegetables, cook a vegetarian soup, eat, enjoy, and celebrate life together.

Suggested Donation: 10 euros
Register at: lisbeth@elisabeth.berlin
Workshop in German and English—all languages are welcome!