Dates
30 September - 1 October 2023
Discipline
Contemporary textile practices
Type
Conference on Contemporary Textile Practices

There is still a widespread belief that craft is an immobile and static sector. On the contrary, craft has always been in a state of constant evolution because it is part of human nature to try to make things faster, more efficient and more comfortable. This is especially true in the textile sector, which has been a driver of innovation from the invention of spinning and weaving in the Neolithic era to the thread-sorting mechanisms of the 18th century Jacquard loom, the acknowledged forerunner of the computer. Today, artisan workshops make extensive use of technological tools for management, communication and production.

The traditional strategy for setting up a craft workshop was, and still is, based on mastery of all the techniques and skills that make up a craft, often accompanied by in-depth knowledge of a given material. But textiles is an expanding field and we can see that, alongside the workshops we have always known, a number of multidisciplinary practices coexist with textiles as a common denominator. The conference participants recycle industrial waste to create products with added value, recreate Inca quipus from Facebook algorithms, create minimalist art by embroidering with sequins, wrap (literally) opera singers and actresses, crochet versions of the faralaes costume, recover the traditional knowledge associated with the production of local textile fibres, collaborate with creators from other fields, with schools, with industry... Their work brings us closer to the enormous richness and diversity of today's textiles, which knows no boundaries and allows for almost as many approaches as there are workshops. This is the aim of Tecendo Futuros ((Weaving Futures), to give an overview of the current situation of contemporary textile practices.

Lala de Dios

Crafts from Galicia: Tecendo Futuros (Weaving Futures)

The Fundación Artesanía de Galicia organised "Tejiendo Futuros: Prácticas textiles contemporáneas" (Weaving Futures: Contemporary Textile Practices) in collaboration with our production space. The conference was curated by Lala de Dios and took place in our space on 30 September and 1 October 2023.

The conference focused the professions and the work of different creators linked to the textile sector from very different perspectives: the relationship between textiles and fashion, science, textile art, new materials or more traditional materials linked to specific geographical areas.

Through this conference, the Xunta aims to provide an overview of the current situation of contemporary textile practices, highlighting their heterogeneity and richness, which knows no limits and allows for almost as many approaches as the workshops. Participants in the workshops recycle industrial challenges to create products with added value, recreate Inca quipus from Facebook algorithms, create minimalist art by embroidering with beads, dress opera singers and actresses, make versions of the faralaes costume with hooks, recover traditional knowledge related to the production of local textile fibres, collaborate with creators from other fields, etc.

A project of: