Aurora residents can learn new creative skills at no cost this month as Aurora Town Square and the Aurora Cultural Centre host two free hands-on workshops. The beginner-friendly sessions introduce small loom-based weaving on September 19 and contemporary South Asian mirror embroidery on September 26, 2026.
The first workshop, Introduction to Small Loom-Based Weaving with artist Roda Medhat, runs from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Mirkopoulos Plateia outdoor plaza. It is open to ages 6 and up, and no previous experience is required. Medhat is a Kurdish-born Toronto artist whose practice rebuilds cultural source material, including textiles.
The second workshop, Contemporary South Asian Mirror Embroidery with Khadija Aziz, takes place from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the Art Education Room. It is open to ages 16 and up. Aziz is a Pakistani-born artist and educator based in Toronto, currently an artist-in-residence at Harbourfront Centre’s Textiles Studio.
Both workshops are offered in conjunction with Common Threads: Aurora Public Art Festival, which runs from September 16 to 27, 2026 at the Mirkopoulos Plateia. The festival presents three large-scale outdoor installations by Aziz, Yifu Ding and Zishuo Li, and Medhat, exploring identity, visibility, and cultural heritage through fibre-based practices. All materials for the workshops are provided, and the programs are funded by Aurora Town Square.
More details are available on the Introduction to Small Loom-Based Weaving and Contemporary South Asian Mirror Embroidery event pages.
