Hacking Histories: Sonified Textiles
Sandy Ma
11 November 2026
Day + Time | Wednesday | 5.30-7.30pm
Location | Craft + Design Canberra, Level 1 North Building, 180 London Circuit, Canberra, ACT, 2601
Entry | General Public Ticket $70 | Members $63 | Bookings Essential
Access | template, template, template
This workshop invites you to explore the relationship between textiles, electronics and sound. Through embroidery with conductive materials, you will bring softness into your relationship with technology, reflecting on how digital devices have shaped your life.
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WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING
The workshop begins with a guided blind drawing exercise, sketching a piece of technology from your past without looking at the page. From there, you will embroider your memories onto fabric using beginner friendly techniques, integrating conductive thread and copper tape to create a soft circuit.
Your finished textile will be connected to Sandy’s custom designed Touching Wires and a bela board, allowing your circuit to generate sound through touch. You will leave with a unique interactive artwork and new skills at the intersection of craft and technology.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO BRING
All materials will be provided.
THIS WORKSHOP IS BEST SUITED FOR
Anyone curious about the meeting point of craft and technology. No prior experience in embroidery or electronics is required.
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Sandy Ma is an emerging multidisciplinary artist and educator of mainland Chinese descent working on unceded Ngunnawal/Ngambri Country. Her creative practice weaves together textiles, sound and performance to explore embodied knowledge and playful resistance by querying the role of technology in our lives and how to create joyful interactions with emerging technologies. Sandy’s work is deeply invested in collaboration and research, creating participatory installations that engage public audiences. As an educator, Sandy is committed to fostering interdisciplinary learning spaces that centre play and creativity. In 2025, she ran a series of Amplified Textiles workshops at the Science Gallery Melbourne inviting participants to learn about soft circuit practices, inviting reflective practice into technology making.
SEE ARTIST WEBSITE HERE
Images | Amplified Textiles Workshop 2025 | Photos by Yichen Wang + Little Pay