One Million Stars at SLQ

Stars in the making. Image credit: Maryann Talia Pau

Want to learn how to make one of these beautiful 8 pointed stars? Join Maryann at the Big Day of Belonging on 18 June and contribute to the One Million Stars to End Violence – an epic installation that is as it sounds, set to debut at the 2018 Commonwealth games on the Gold Coast.

What started as a personal response to an act of violence in 2012 has since grown into an international weaving movement with stars being made in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, Europe and the USA.

‘The Million Stars project is an opportunity for us to be light and hope in the world and to make something beautiful and powerful together’, says Maryann.

“I always look forward to meeting new people, hearing and sharing stories. I also love seeing people's reactions when they complete a star or see a small installation of woven stars. It inspires an imagination for what 1 million stars will look like and what can be achieved when everyone works together.”

Born in Samoa and growing up in Auckland and Australia, Maryann is an artist, designer and practising weaver who loves to make body adornment using traditional and contemporary weaving techniques. She is always on the hunt for opportunities to collaborate with other weavers, receiving and exchanging knowledge and experience. In fact, the star design she uses in the Million Stars project came out of collaboration with a weaver from Waiban Island in the Torres Strait. She then discovered this was the same technique her mama used growing up in Samoa.

Big Day of Belonging: https://www.facebook.com/events/1122895857748594/

One Million Stars to End Violence: https://www.facebook.com/onemillionstarstoendviolence/