EN PLEIN AIR Interactive Clothing Installation | Creative Matterz Fund
©Cherie Birkner
CREATIVE MATTERZ FUND PROJECT PRESENTATION
From 100 submissions, this project idea was selected as 1 of 10 by a renowned jury based on the criteria of sustainability, originality, inclusivity, impact and aesthetics. The Creative Matterz Fund has supported all projects with €500, mentorship opportunities and pr. Now you can see what the creatives have realized in the last 3 months and vote for your favorite 3 project to win a total of €1000 in support of their work.
EN PLEIN AIR
During the ‘48 Stunden Neukölln’ art festival in Berlin we invited residents and visitors to our participatory art installation ‘En Plein Air’ and to STREET-SHOPPPING tours on mobile clothes horses.
As the creative minds and practitioners behind STREETWARE, we are rejuvenating the tradition of rag pickers and philosophising on the literal scrapheap, delving into the aesthetic dimensions of human existence. We understand material found on the streets as an invitation to philosophise about the effects of fashion and the global clothing industry on the environment and on our lives: How does fast fashion impact air pollution? How do the cast-off garments challenge the Eurocentric and White understanding of fashion? Is clothing donation a charitable act or a paternalistic gesture? Who wins in the deal of textile disposal?
All photos: ©Paolo Gallo
The discarded garments that we previously collected from the streets and washed, were displayed on 48 clothes horses as sculptural intervention in a park: from found objects they became sought-after goods. Everyone was invited to take one of these Neukölln textile items back home as a souvenir or as an urban outfit, to attach their own fabrics to the clothesline or to exchange clothes with one another. The STREET-SHOPPING tours gave the participants the opportunity to become rag picker for a day: While we rolled around the neighborhood looking for dumped cloth items to save, we enjoyed the flow of a circular lifestyle and discussed consumerism and fast fashion.
MEET THE TEAM
©Cherie Birkner
Core members of STREETWARE saved item are barbara caveng, an interdisciplinary working visual artist with a focus on three-dimensional artistic practice, participatory art, interventions and performance and Alice Fassina, a costume designer, whose artistic approach and work methods are based on sustainability and circular economy.
Our team counts members from different fields, such as theater, activism for people in need, journalism, handcraft, fashion, cultural education, entrepreneurship, performing art.
The common goal of the whole team is to contribute to a fundamental, inclusive social debate about economic power and the collateral social and ecological effects, to learn and unlearn colonial ways of thinking and to create new approaches to solutions. We hope to raise awareness about this complex issue through the face-to-face encounter and interaction of a wide variety of contributors and experts. We believe that insight and empathy can serve as an impulse for a change in habitual consumer behaviour.
How did the Creative Matterz Fund help you realize your project?
Thanks to the mentors of Creative Matterz Fund we could have more support with PR and social media strategies, networking contacts and advertising channels. The fund also helped us to cover a large part of costs.
Who were your mentors?
We thank Kim Gerlach and Inga Mücke for their mentoring and inputs.
What learnings did you have?
The participating audience confirmed once again that not only the need for clothing but the joy of dressing up is something that unites us all, regardless of age, gender or language.
©Cherie Birkner
What is your vision for the future?
We understand the garment industry as a global net. What we wear as garments on our skin are not just textiles, but insignia of power that describe a complex and problematic cycle. STREETWARE invites a variety of people from various segments of society to take an active part in this endeavour and participate in the production process. We aim to co-operate with local people who pass the word on, recycling companies, the textile industry, places that offer clothing to those who can’t afford it, sociologists, philosophers and artists. We contact neighbours and contemplate, together, how we can support homeless people. We conduct research and work where art, politics and society interact.
How can one best support you?
We are looking for funds and sponsorships to extend the period of the main project STREETWARE saved item. So giving us you vote would be a great support! In addition, as a participatory art project, we welcome everyone to support us with their time, knowledge and or presence along with the development and realisation of ideas.
COMMUNITY AWARD
View all projects and vote for your top three to win a further total of €1000 in support of their work
UPDATE: We can congratulate En Plein Air for winning 3ed place in the Community Award!