Symposium on collaborative practices in the field of art and migration – day II
During a series of open ateliers Weaving Futures created a space where people with different histories have built conversations beyond language. While working with textile, music and image, the ateliers were a starting point to bring people together and nourish their dreams. It offered a place to practise new ideas and to build generous communities. We believe that it’s through artistic practice that we can materialise questions that language cannot express, and make us see what is possible in real life. For some, this process contributed to other senses of belonging, for others it built new networks. In addition it brought a series of beautiful bags and baskets from upcycled textiles, a hip-hop performance, new songs, music, dance and a short documentary.
But what actually happened during these exchanges, where can we locate what is of value and where are the challenges? How did the project voice the needs of the participants? How can we build other realities through this kind of collaborative form of making? In short, what can we learn from these experiences and how can we do it better together in the years to come?
To unpack these questions, we will weave different voices during an engaging symposium on collaborative practices in the field of art and migration. We will listen to experts from the field, share our tastes over lunch, listen to tunes and exchange thoughts through acts of making.
Organised by: Douri Asbl & University of Luxembourg, in collaboration with Sandberg Instituut, Disarming Design & Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts
Programme Wednesday 29 June, Day II
10.00 am Doors open
10.30 am Textile session, part I with Samira Vogel, Julina Bezold, Josiane Mangen, Faddi Chéquryah Interventions by Yusrah & Annelys de Vet
1.00 pm Lunch
2.00 pm Textile session, part II by Samira Vogel, Julina Bezold, Josiane Mangen, Faddi Chéquryah 5.00 pm End
BIOGRAPHIES
Yusra Amounah is a Syrian civic activist, who is trying to interconnect different worlds. Her experience of forced movement between places and her passion for art and cultural diversity, enabled her to establish the Douri Association, which is a platform to connect artists, researchers, social workers and activists in the amazing mosaic of Luxembourgian societies in particular and European in general.
Julina Bezold is a German-Swiss body designer who is working in costume design, body architecture, performance (installation), and biodesign. In her work she explores the diverse connections of human and planetary consciousness. Her interest in perspectives beyond Western scientific rationalism has opened her gaze for mysticism & spirituality; Incorporating methodologies of pleasure activism, design for wellbeing, coexistence & sensitivity.
Fadi Chéquryah is a Lebanese artist and a civic activist, who has been practising plastic art as a painter for more than 20 years. He worked with the Italian organisation INTERSOS and volunteered with UNHCR Lebanon as well as the Red Cross Luxembourg. Since 2019 he has cooperated with HARIKO Esch-sur-Alzette in artistic workshops for youth. He also worked as a screenwriter for TV and radio channels, such as BBC Arabic between 2016 - 2017. He studied Law in Damascus University and practised law for 3 years, before he stopped working as a lawyer to be a full time artist and screenwriter.
Annelys de Vet is a designer, educator and researcher with an interdisciplinary interest in collaborative forms of design methods. De Vet is currently a PhD candidate at ARIA, a practice-led doctoral study at Sint Lucas School of Arts and University Antwerp. She founded the masters course in design ‘Disarming Design’ at the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam, and is co-founder of the design platform ‘Disarming Design from Palestine’. In 2019 she made the ‘Subjective atlas of Luxembourg’ together with Casino Art Centre. Together with Yusra Amounah she developed ‘Weaving Futures’.
Samira Vogel is a weaver, artist and educator from Switzerland, based in Amsterdam, where she is currently pursuing a Masters at the Sandberg Instituut. She previously studied Art and Design Education at the Zurich University of the Arts and Textile Design at the Srishti Institute in Bangalore, India. She uses weaving not only as a material and carrier of stories but also as a method and a tool to think through different processes of making and being. Treating textile as both an artistic medium and a space of communication, Samira explores the nature of collectivity by creating interactive weaving installations.