YBLA organically grew out of a series of participatory
yarn bombing events in
Los Angeles, California. Inspired by the book
Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain, Heather Hoggan of Arroyo Arts Collective and Amy Inouye of Future Studio decided to organize
Fig Knit On in October 2010. The event took place on
Figueroa Street in
Highland Park, Los Angeles and had 19 local participants. The group stayed together when Fig Knit On participant Arzu Arda Kosar invited Hoggan to another yarn bombing at the 18th Street Arts Center on June 18, 2011 and 12 of the Fig Knit On participants signed on. What followed was a six month process of putting together
Yarn Bombing 18th Street where local participants met monthly at Kosar’s 18th Street studio and some even developed additional projects such as the
Empathy Circle. Yarnbombing 18th Street formed a Facebook page and was soon joined by 50 local and international cohorts who signed up to create their own original site-specific installations. Due to the diversity of the participants, Yarn Bombing 18th Street ended up becoming an international survey of the yarn bombing movement showcasing a wide variety of installations that ranged from the highly political to whimsical to conceptual pieces. The event deliberately coincided with the 18th Street Arts Center's
Debating Through the Arts event by Inez S. Bush &
Jerri Allyn, who was a member of the
Woman's Building, and so Yarnbombing 18th Street was therefore presented in relation to a movement that questioned established art practices on material, technical, and conceptual levels. The group then yarn bombed their own cars outside the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles’s
Art in the Streets show in August 2011 to bring yarn bombing to the attention of
street art lovers. By then the group adopted the collective name
Yarnbombing Los Angeles (YBLA). The core members, participants and level of involvement among collaborators have been fluid based on project. == Art ==