Learning to Build, Building to Learn: Sewing Studio

James Bridle and Navine G. Dossos are opening a sewing studio at the Walker Art Center on Thursday, November 19, from 6 to 9 PM. It's the first in a series of studios tied to their exhibition, Learning to Build, Building to Learn, which is running in Galleries 1, 2, and 3. The studio is a group project: you get a swatch of custom-printed fabric and use it to make something of your own—anything from a small accessory to a full garment. You'll work from pre-selected no-waste patterns, with a limited number of sewing machines and hand-sewing supplies on hand.

The whole thing is about autonomy and agency—taking a shared piece of fabric and reimagining it into something personal. Since it's a group project, you're working alongside other people in the room, each starting with the same material and ending up with something different. The fabric is handed out on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 6 PM, so if you want to make sure you get a piece, it's worth arriving early. If you're planning a larger project, you'll need to preregister, and on-site sign-up for those opens at 5 PM.

The studio is part of the larger Learning to Build, Building to Learn exhibition, and Bridle and Dossos' installation SUPER KIOSK (2023) is also on view. That exhibition is one of the anchors of the inaugural Walker Design Triennial: Beyond Materialism, a new series the Walker is holding every three years. This first Triennial brings together more than 95 works from 26 designers and collectives across 13 countries, so the sewing studio is just one small part of a much bigger conversation about design and making.

Admission is free, as the session is part of the Walker's Free Thursday Nights, sponsored by the Pohlad Family Community Engagement Fund. It runs from 6 to 9 PM on Thursday, November 19, in Galleries 1, 2, and 3.