Join artist Adam Cooley and learn the art of boro! You'll create a piece of art to take home and help contribute to future public art piece that will be displayed at Brentwood Park.
Participants will learn boro, the Japanese tradition of mending worn cloth, along with sashiko, a simple running stitch used to reinforce and decorate it. Each person will patch and stitch a small piece of cloth to take home. Beginners are welcome!
This workshop is open to ages 10 and up. Children must be accompanied by an adult. It's limited to 12 participants and costs $5.
About the Artist
Adam Cooley is a Durham-based visual artist whose practice spans textile art, painting, illustration, sculpture, and costume, developed over decades of exhibiting internationally. A self-taught artist working in the outsider tradition, he is known for layered symbolism, folkloric imagery, and technical ambition across materials and scale.
Adam was selected as a SEEK Raleigh artist for 2027. His project, Boro Fence, will extend his ongoing Boro Land series into a public, participatory form, to be installed at Raleigh's Brentwood Park. Boro is a centuries old Japanese tradition of mending worn cloth so nothing is wasted. Rather than build a finished piece alone in the studio, Adam is leading a series of public fiber workshops and inviting Raleigh residents to mend and patch their own small pieces of cloth. These contributions will be combined into a future public art piece.
Learn more about Adam
Learn more about SEEK Raleigh