Amsterdam-Excursion

Stedelijk Museum: Unravel - the power and politics of textiles in art

The exhibition Unravel - the power and politics of textiles in art was the destination of an Amsterdam excursion. Textiles are part of everyday life and a medium in art. They evoke memories, represent convictions and tell personal stories with social relevance. The exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum examines the role of textiles in art with the following focal points: Subversive Stitch (resistance to textiles as women's work), Fabric of Everyday Life (lived experiences), Borderlands (visible and invisible borders), Bearing Witness (social politics), Wound and Repair (means of healing), Ancestral Threads (ancestral and alternative knowledge). In addition to pioneers of textile art many young artists use textile materials and techniques. Represented in the exhibition are, among others Magdalena Abakanowicz, Igshaan Adams, Sanford Biggers, Louise Bourgeois, Diedrick Brackens, Jagoda Buić, Feliciano Centurión, Judy Chicago, Myrlande Constant, Cian Dayrit, Tracey Emin, Gee's Bend/Lorraine Pettway, Jeffrey Gibson, Harmony Hammond, Sheila Hicks, Tau Lewis, Ibrahim Mahama, Georgina Maxim, Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín, Faith Ringgold, Zamthingla Ruivah, Hannah Ryggen, Lenore Tawney, Cecilia Vicuña, T. Vinoja and Sarah Zapata. The students actively explored textile art on a guided tour. Before and after the excursion, there was the opportunity to explore

Further information: Lucia Schwalenberg, lucia.schwalenberg@uos.de

Photos: Lucia Schwalenberg

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Jetzt geht's rund

Excursion to the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt in Osnabrück

The exhibition Jetzt geht's rund at the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) in Osnabrück is all about communicating sustainability. This includes questions such as: What if we used products for as long as possible? What if waste were a raw material for something new? What if things live longer by repairing or exchanging them? Doing business in this way is called the circular economy. In contrast, the conventional linear economy means that products such as smartphones, T-shirts or sneakers are often only used for a short time and then thrown away. This leads to scarce resources, growing mountains of waste, harmful emissions and waste water. Producing and consuming in this way endangers our environment and our livelihoods. The exhibition shows how things can be done differently. Under led by environmental journalist and educational DBU employee Wiebke Lenz and assisted by intern Jan Pohlmann, 25 students of Textile Studies visited the DBU exhibition in Osnabrück. At interactive stations, the students participants virtually designed a circular sneaker at interactive stations or tried out various waste separation processes. The offer is aimed at prospective teachers for passing on in everyday school life. In teams, the excursion participants developed their own ideas for ideas for more circular thinking in the future and collected material for
later work with pupils at school. Part of the part of the excursion was an exchange of ideas about the tasks of the DBU as one of of the largest environmental foundations in Europe and education for sustainable
development (ESD) as a focus of study in the university's Textile Design department.
Design at the university.

Further information: Lucia Schwalenberg, lucia.schwalenberg@uos.de

Fotos: Lucia Schwalenberg

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Excursion JAB Anstoetz

Insights into a textile publisher

During an excursion to JAB Anstoetz in Bielefeld, students of Textile Studies gained valuable insights into how the largest fabric publisher in the world works. Founded in 1946, the German family business offers a high-quality range of interior furnishing fabrics and furniture in global showrooms from Paris, Milan, Tokyo to New York. The majority of the approximately 1,400 employees work at the headquarters in Bielefeld. The company complex includes the Bielefelder Werkstätten in the form of a manufacture for the handcrafted production of upholstered furniture. Here, upholsterers, seamstresses, interior decorators and carpenters process orders for furniture stores worldwide using elaborate handwork. The students had the opportunity to talk to employees in the production departments from the upholstery to cutting to the warehouse. What was impressive were, among other things: the variety of craft techniques, the attention to detail, the high quality standards, the in-house training and the inclusion through the integration of supervised employees from Bethel. A highlight was the visit to the newly opened company meeting point frei[raum] as well as the conclusion to the factory outlet, where the students were able to choose textile materials for their current projects. The excursion arose from the Sitzwerk - Sustainable Furniture Design seminar. This seminar, led by master interior designer Klaus Schmidt and with the support of master carpenter Jürgen Menkhaus, focused on the development of functional seating furniture while taking into account the careful use of resources. An important aspect was the cooperation between the university, crafts and industry. The examination of craft and industrial work contexts expands the textile students' horizon of experience and their connection to the world of life. As a cooperation partner, JAB Anstoetz sponsored all textile materials for the seminar. A brochure has been published for the seminar, see below. The students reflect on their impressions of the excursion in excursion reports. A big thank you goes to the JAB interior designer Diane Beckmann and the workshop manager of the JAB upholstery Matthias Brökelmann for the complex and valuable excursion day.

Brochure for the Sitzwerk-Seminar

Further informations: Prof.in Dr.in phil. Bärbel Schmidt, 0541 969-4217, baerbel.schmidt@uni-osnabrueck.de

Photos: Lucia Schwalenberg.

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Excursion to Vienna

From sewing boxes & Sachertorte ...

... six of our students can now report in detail. From October 19th to 23rd, we went on a multifaceted excursion to Vienna with our department, which was characterized by impressive insights and cultural highlights. The first item on the program on Friday started with a captivating and multi-layered tour of the MAK Vienna, with the focus on the exhibition CONFESSIONS OF A T-SHIRT. This special exhibition deals with the negative effects of the fashion industry on people and nature. The problems are highlighted and solution-oriented projects are presented that will rethink fashion design of the future. On Saturday morning we went to the MAK GEYMÜLLERSCHLÖSSEL, where we visited the (CON)TEMPORARY FASHION SHOWCASE curated by Flora Miranda. In this unique ambience of Biedermeier furniture, haute couture appeared in a special contrast. The students presented impressive short presentations on the designer's self-selected objects, which primarily deal with A.I., big data and feminism.The highlight of the trip occurred on Sunday with a visit to the re:pair festival in the Vienna Folklore Museum. Walter Bruno Brix gave an inspiring lecture under the motto MOTTAINAI - WASTE NOTHING! Brix presented various textiles from the East Asian region, where every little scrap of fabric was repaired or recycled.The participants then delved into a lecture about the historical embedding and development of the sewing box, although the speaker was unexpected. Here our student Anja Leshoff proved to be a savior in an emergency and took on the program item at the festival with impressive bravura.At the end of the festival we took part in an exciting workshop led by Walter Bruno Brix, which was informative and inspiring. As part of this event, participants had the opportunity to repair textiles they had brought with them using the Sashiko technique.In between, the students took the opportunity to pursue their personal goals. The Belvedere, the Sigmund Freud Museum, the flea market at the Naschmarkt, the Prater, second-hand shops in Burggasse and the city's diverse coffee houses offered space for individual discoveries and experiences.

Further informations: Lesley-Ann Baldwin, lesley-ann.baldwin@uni-osnabrueck.de, Christine Löbbers, christine.loebbers@uni-osnabrueck.de

Text: Lesley-Ann Baldwin.

Photos: MAK Wien, re:pair festival, Anja Leshoff.

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Excursion to the Venice Biennale

Textile students at International Art Exhibition

Cultural excitement and Aperol Spritz were the order of the day for students of textile design on an excursion to Venice. The destination of the study trip was the 59th Biennale Arte 2022, the world's largest art exhibition, which takes place every two years in the Italian lagoon city.

During the excursion, the participants first visited the Giardini della Biennale, a park built by Napoleon. Here a great variety of art was shown in a central exhibition building and in 29 country pavilions.

The following day we went to the Arsenale, a former shipyard that is now used as an exhibition venue. The enormous range of textile exhibits, the context of which was elaborated by the students in the form of papers, stood out particularly positively.
Another day was at the group's free disposal to drift through the many alleys and bridges of Venice. Among other things, they visited exhibitions, museums, other pavilions and St. Mark's Basilica.

Lecturers: Christine Löbbers, Lesley-Ann Baldwin

Text: Lesley-Ann Baldwin

Photos: Christine Löbbers, Lesley-Ann Baldwin

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Excursion to Hanover

Makerspace Hafven and Use-less exhibition

For the first time after three digital semesters, real excursions are taking place again in Textile Studies at the University of Osnabrück. One of the first took the students to Hanover to the Makerspace Hafven and the Use-less exhibition at the August Kestner Museum .

Hafven co-founder Christoph Zimmermann guided the students through the workshops and the co-working spaces with an inspiring exchange of ideas in the Hafven Café. The students were enthusiastic about the courage, the visions and the community spirit behind the Hafven concept. Also exciting was a newly planned project with students that is to start soon. Many thanks to Christoph Zimmermann and team.

The visit is part of a project of Textile Studies "Textile Studies, Craft Education and Makerspaces" funded by the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs of Lower Saxony, for which research trips to Finland, the Netherlands and Belgium have taken place in recent weeks. Read more in the Finland Travel Diaries and the  Netherlands/Belgium Travelreport

Afterwards, we went to the Use-less exhibition at the August Kestner Museum. Many thanks for the guided tour on the topic of slow fashion to Annika Wellmann and insights into museum education to Anina Mangels and Jorina Hansen. 

Further Information: https://www.hafven.de/ and https://useless-ausstellung.de/

Caption (photo above): Makerspace Hafven - Außenansicht, Galerie im Innehof, Werkstattführung, Holzwerkstatt, Mitgründer Christoph Zimmermann.

Caption (poto below): Use-less-Ausstellung im August Kestner Museum - Informationsmaterial, Ausstellungsansicht, Exponat Kindertunika, Gebrauchttextilien, Ausstellungseingang, Exponat Strickomat.

photos: Lucia Schwalenberg

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Alvesrode spinning mill

Video excursion with students to Carina Reso’s spinning mill

During hybrid teaching, a video excursion to “Die kleine Spinnerei” (The small spinning mill) of agriculturalist Carina Reso in Alvesrode am Deister was held in Textile Studies. Carina Reso runs her own spinning mill as part of the family farm. The aim is to process, wash, spin and dye wool from their own alpacas and cashmere goats, as well as customer orders from domestic, regional breeds of sheep. These breeds of sheep include Coburg Fox sheep, Gotland sheep and Texel sheep. Thanks to modern spinning technology, this is also possible in small quantities. Carina Reso combines an old traditional craft with state-of-the-art technology, and spins the thread to create a sustainable, regional product. The video excursion was part of Lucia Schwalenberg’s course entitled “FROM THE SCRATCH – Textile Self-Sufficiency: Vision or Utopia” with Lucia Schwalenberg.

Photos: Lucia Schwalenberg

Excursion to NEONYT, the fair for sustainable fashion in Berlin

NEONYT is a fair for green fashion that addresses the issue of fashion and sustainability. The fair, embedded in Berlin Fashion Week, took place at the now decommissioned Tempelhof Airport in January 2020. Sustainable fashion labels presented their collections. The FASHIONSUSTAIN conference was held in parallel. The trade fair is intended for specialist visitors. Eight Textile Studies students attended the event. Several students extended their stay in Berlin to visit the SLOW FASHION exhibition at the Museum of European Cultures or to research the topics of fashion, fair fashion and fashion consumption in the local studio and second-hand shop scene. There are plans for NEONYT to relocate to Frankfurt in 2021, together with Fashion Week.

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Textile excursion to Sri Lanka

Excursion to a country with a rich textile tradition

A group of Textile Studies students and lecturers travelled to Sri Lanka in spring 2018 for a three-week textile excursion. 

Sri Lanka is a country with a rich textile tradition, particularly in the field of weaving. After nearly 30 years of civil war, the country is in the process of reconstruction. Handlooms are being installed and used to produce local textiles in social projects, handicraft centers and manufactories, independent of mass production in industrial free trade zones. To be able to successfully market hand-woven textiles, not only craftsmanship but also a high-quality design are essential. 

The concrete task of the excursion group under the project leadership of Professor Dr. Bärbel Schmidt was to support a social project in the former Tamil civil war region in the north of Sri Lanka. The students developed and presented designs for hand-woven textiles for WEAVE, a project that enables single mothers – often Tamil war widows – to earn their own income by working in cooperatives and on domestic looms. 

Other parts of the textile excursion included visits to textile universities on the island, a traditional weaving village in the Tamil area, a dyeing initiative in the mountains of Sri Lanka, textile manufacturers, textile artists and designers, the National Crafts Council, Colombo National Museum Colombo and the Goethe-Institut. 

The joint workshop with students from the University of Morutawa focused on sharing textile techniques, teaching design skills and educational concepts. Teaching staff and students from the University of Moratuwa and Sri Lanka’s Academy of Design (AOD), which the students also visited, were particularly interested in the excellent technical workshop equipment at Osnabrück’s Department of Textile Studies. The department has just newly acquired a future-oriented digital hand Jacquard loom, and its workshop has been restructured, including the repair of a historic punchcard Jacquard loom – the only one owned by a university in Germany. 

The preparation of the cooperation and excursion was facilitated by international contacts of Osnabrück University graduate Dr. Mirja Kekeritz, who is conducting research in Sri Lanka on a DAAD scholarship.

Participating students: Catrin Adam, Pauline Becking, Amelie Gieschler, Cynthia Göcken, Anna-Katharina Kestel, Anna Klinar, Carolin Polaczyk, Lara Schöber, Rieke Scholle.

Participating lecturers: Professor Dr. Bärbel Schmidt, Dipl. Des. Lucia Schwalenberg

Photos: Lucia Schwalenberg

Photos: Lucia Schwalenberg

Prof. Dr. Bärbel Schmidt /Dr. Mirja Kekeritz /Lucia Schwalenberg
Textilexkursion Sri Lanka
Format 14,8 x 21 cm
32 Seiten, zahlreiche farbige Abbildungen
Universität Osnabrück/Textiles Gestalten 2018

Textile excursion to Sri Lanka

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