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Marketplace

CF Toronto Eaton Centre

June 1, 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
June 2, 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Presented by

Andes Warmi

Kichwa / Ecuador
Craft / Fashion

Andes Warmi, “”De Los Valles al Altiplano,”” busca conectar culturas y tejidos ancestrales a través de una dedicada red de…

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Cedar Eve Creations

Anishinaabae (Ojibway)Saugeen First Nation/ Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Craft

Cedar Eve (Anishinaabe) is a self-taught bead artist based in Montreal. Her vibrant beadwork draws inspiration from nature, urban environments,…

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Cher Chapman

Anishinaabe / Canada
Craft

Cher Chapman is from Fort William First Nation, Ontario. She is an exquisite beadworker that has a very unique sense…

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Christine Toulouse

Anishinaabe - Ojibway and Algonquin, member of Sagamok Anishnawbek
Craft

Christine Toulouse, an emerging Anishinaabe artist from Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, specializes in quillwork. Guided by her grandmother, Ida Toulouse,…

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Hakhu Amazon Design

KICHWA AMAZONICO
Fashion

The Hahku Project was formed by community leaders and Leo Cerda, and environmental activist and member of the Kichwa Nation,…

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IX BALAM

Maya K'iché and Pipíl
Fashion

Marta Orellana (Maya K’iché, Petén Guatemala), the designer of Ix Balam, explores culture, photography, and sociology in her fashion. Orellana…

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Janekeo Kanio

Mapuche / Chile
Craft

Mi nombre es Jeannette Paulina Canio Ñanculeo y nací en Santiago de chile el 29 de junio de 1967. Soy…

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Kalikuq Girl

Nunavut
Craft

Barbara Taptuna Olson is dedicated to preserving Inuit traditions passed down through her family. She is an architectural technologist and…

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Lady Mary creations

Aroland First Nation
Craft

Mary Magiskan (Anishinaabe), born and raised in Thunder Bay, draws inspiration from her grandparents’ traditional lifestyle. With a focus on…

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Merdi Sihombing

Indonesia
Fashion

Merdi Sihombing, a Fashion Science and Design graduate, reinterprets traditional textiles and natural dyes in contemporary fashion. Inspired by his…

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Minwaate Designs

Ojibwe from Wikwemikoong First Nation
Craft

Jocelyn Kagige (Ojibwe from Wikwemikoong First Nation) is an artist and social worker who merges expression with community empowerment. From…

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Mobilize Waskawewin

Nehiyaw (Bigstone Cree Nation) Wabasca AB
Fashion

Dusty LeGrande, the designer behind Mobilize Waskawewin, is dedicated to shifting societal perspectives and shaping a better future through collaborative…

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Mooz Ikwewag

Ojibwe
Craft

The DNA of Mooz Ikwewag is home-tanned, smoked moose hide. Mooz Ikwewag will showcase the beauty and versatility of smoked…

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NshTsh

Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte
Craft

Nishina Shapwaykeesic-Loft is Kanien’kehá:ka from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. She is a 2S queer, multi-disciplinary artist in a wide spectrum of…

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osawâyisis

Maskwacîs Cree Nation; Aamjiwnaang (Kinship)
Craft / Fashion

Heather Kiskihkoman, a multidisciplinary Indigenous artist from Maskwacîs, Alberta, holds a BFA from Parsons The New School and a B.Ed…

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Rashelle

Big Stone Cree Nation
Craft

Nehiyaw Iskwew multidisciplinary designer who values playfulness as a means of exemplifying a more diverse standard of beauty, which sings…

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Rez Mouse

Fort Nelson First Nation
Craft

Kiyera Smith (Fort Nelson First Nation) grew up watching her elders sewing. Her passion for sewing grew while participating in…

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The Zapotec Weavers

Zapotec / Mexico/USA
Craft

We are the Gutiérrez family, a family of third-generation Zapotec weavers, and this is our story. It all started with…

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Theresa Burning

Seneca/Ojibway
Craft

Theresa Burning (Seneca/Ojibway), a resident of Toronto, has been honing her beading and craft skills for approximately 25 years, inspired…

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This Claw

Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin)
Craft

I’m Tsilhqot’in from Tsideldel, BC, live in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang. Beading serves as the bridge that connects me, a visible Two-Spirit Artist,…

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Warmichic

Quechua/Huanca / Peru
Craft

Qarla Quispe Huamaní es una destacada artista gráfica textil y artista plástica egresada de diferentes instituciones de arte como la…

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Yala Mola

Guna / Panama
Craft

Me llamo Yaliveth Roldán, soy artista plástica, ilustradora, profesora de artes y diseñadora de modas, crecí en un ambiente artístico…

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Abiayala Spotlight

Curated by Samay Arcentales Cajas
Booths ## - ##

Imagine listening to the ever-present sounds of rainforest life forms: the soft touch of achiote seeds that stain your fingers, the grassy smell of wool and cotton woven into the very fabric of your clothing, and the sight of both bright and earth colours filling every crevice. Imagine days being as long as nights all year round, of precious metals found in riverside sands, of language as soft as orchids and as tough as mountain terrain.

This is Abiayala, and so much more.

The term Abiayala comes from the Guna (from territories now known as Panama and Colombia) language: Dulegaya. On October of 1975, the first conference of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples - hosted in Port Alberni, BC - took place. Aymara leader Takir Mamani (Indigenous to Bolivia), encouraged the use of the term Abiayala, to replace the use of the word “Americas”. Not only was it a way of taking back Indigenous histories and establishing ourselves as owners of our own identity, but brought all Indigenous peoples together across colonial borders. It is now largely used as a way to refer to areas colonized by Spanish, Portuguese, and French empires.

Abiayala means mature land, or land of blood. In this same way, the designers in this spotlight all draw inspiration from a deep ancestral, knowledgeable source, bringing new, contemporary energy into the world of fashion, showing that Indigenous communities remain and always will be important cultural creators. A peoples who do not belong to museums but who are alive and well and changing the landscape of what we know as fashion.

The designers range as far south as Chile, all the way north to Mexico. Through the use of a variety of materials (such as cotton, wool, silver, and seed beads) and a multitude of techniques (weaving, sewing, industrial machinery, soldering, and modeling), they each bring their own unique design and aesthetic. They represent a part of what 19,197,000 km2 of land mass holds, each one groundbreaking in their own right, from emerging artists to established designers who have paved paths for the next generations to come.

Broken up by borders and now coming together with shared passions, I hope this spotlight enriches what is understood as Indigenous fashion and the multitude of textures, silhouettes, and teachings it can carry.

Kaypi mikanchik
We are here

Yupaychani shunkumanta
From my heart, thank you

Samay Arcentales Cajas