Crafting Technology for Textiles
Lead Research Organisation:
Royal College of Art
Department Name: School of Design
Abstract
Throughout history, Istanbul has been a city where different communities have coexisted,
and many languages, religions, and cultures have interacted with and influenced one
another. Despite changes over time, the city is still home to a culture where, within
craftsmanship, textiles are used in a variety of forms. The breadth of colour and thread
types, designs, and motifs used in textile practice has transformed worldwide into a means
of expression through which the stories of a particular culture are passed down from
generation to generation. Quilting, carpet weaving, cloth stamping, embroidery, and point
lace are just some of Turkey's many textile crafts. Passed down from master to apprentice,
the various trades associated with these crafts are now slowly giving way to technology.
In a project to be carried out by RCA and Istanbul Modern Museum, a network of scholars,
artists, and craftspeople from Turkey and the United Kingdom will coalesce to move textiles,
as used throughout crafts and art, closer to contemporary technology by creating
avant-garde technology and design products. The project is aimed at academics, textile
artists, designers and artisans based in Istanbul. Notably, we seek to reach the craftspeople
working in the fields of traditional textile craft and art, and young communities of textile art
and research, to focus on knowledge transfer and best practice. Hence, universities, arts
institutions, craft guilds and associations will be linked through a series of workshops and
panel discussions, with the project findings disseminated at a final symposium in Istanbul
Modern.
The proposed activities will support the economic development of the textile craft sector in
Turkey, contributing to Istanbul's 2014-2020 Regional Plan targets by (i) introducing new
textile-making skills (ii) gathering local and international qualified creative labour to Istanbul
through the symposiums (iii) sharing textile research and development activities with young
artists and designers and craftspeople to assist in increasing turnovers in their businesses.
From the notion of bringing textile thinking in interdisciplinary practices, we will use this
network as a platform to engage with a broader community and test our idea of joint
research to launch long-term initiatives. Looking beyond the current state of the art, we will
facilitate the sharing of experiences and expertise across different disciplines, which also
includes material innovation, AI and technology start-ups. With a strong emphasis on the
policy of future craft, we will explore strategies as to how these relationships might be
framed to support new talents. By aspiring to make art easily accessible by the masses, and
to initiate a conversation at the intersection of craft and technology, Istanbul Modern would
be an excellent host to seed this hybrid design framework. Through this series of events, we
aim to mutually transfer and share the experience of research and industrial relations to
support the local artisans, artists and early career researchers working with textiles to reach
a wider audience and discover new elements in crafted textiles. The outcomes of the
proposed activities would promote the economic development and welfare of Turkey by (i)
suggesting possible pathways and bringing new skills to increase the value of textile craft
and goods by technology embodiment (ii) exampling successful models and knowledge
transfer to reach the creative labour's full potential and meet international and national
demands (iii) promoting interdisciplinary research in traditional craft to enter new sectors,
which in turn will increase the export (iv) developing new infrastructure and free programmes
in Istanbul Modern encouraging technology adaptation in art and design (v) initiating a
dialogue for creation of local policy frameworks and discussing necessary policy measures
based on successful models in the UK.
and many languages, religions, and cultures have interacted with and influenced one
another. Despite changes over time, the city is still home to a culture where, within
craftsmanship, textiles are used in a variety of forms. The breadth of colour and thread
types, designs, and motifs used in textile practice has transformed worldwide into a means
of expression through which the stories of a particular culture are passed down from
generation to generation. Quilting, carpet weaving, cloth stamping, embroidery, and point
lace are just some of Turkey's many textile crafts. Passed down from master to apprentice,
the various trades associated with these crafts are now slowly giving way to technology.
In a project to be carried out by RCA and Istanbul Modern Museum, a network of scholars,
artists, and craftspeople from Turkey and the United Kingdom will coalesce to move textiles,
as used throughout crafts and art, closer to contemporary technology by creating
avant-garde technology and design products. The project is aimed at academics, textile
artists, designers and artisans based in Istanbul. Notably, we seek to reach the craftspeople
working in the fields of traditional textile craft and art, and young communities of textile art
and research, to focus on knowledge transfer and best practice. Hence, universities, arts
institutions, craft guilds and associations will be linked through a series of workshops and
panel discussions, with the project findings disseminated at a final symposium in Istanbul
Modern.
The proposed activities will support the economic development of the textile craft sector in
Turkey, contributing to Istanbul's 2014-2020 Regional Plan targets by (i) introducing new
textile-making skills (ii) gathering local and international qualified creative labour to Istanbul
through the symposiums (iii) sharing textile research and development activities with young
artists and designers and craftspeople to assist in increasing turnovers in their businesses.
From the notion of bringing textile thinking in interdisciplinary practices, we will use this
network as a platform to engage with a broader community and test our idea of joint
research to launch long-term initiatives. Looking beyond the current state of the art, we will
facilitate the sharing of experiences and expertise across different disciplines, which also
includes material innovation, AI and technology start-ups. With a strong emphasis on the
policy of future craft, we will explore strategies as to how these relationships might be
framed to support new talents. By aspiring to make art easily accessible by the masses, and
to initiate a conversation at the intersection of craft and technology, Istanbul Modern would
be an excellent host to seed this hybrid design framework. Through this series of events, we
aim to mutually transfer and share the experience of research and industrial relations to
support the local artisans, artists and early career researchers working with textiles to reach
a wider audience and discover new elements in crafted textiles. The outcomes of the
proposed activities would promote the economic development and welfare of Turkey by (i)
suggesting possible pathways and bringing new skills to increase the value of textile craft
and goods by technology embodiment (ii) exampling successful models and knowledge
transfer to reach the creative labour's full potential and meet international and national
demands (iii) promoting interdisciplinary research in traditional craft to enter new sectors,
which in turn will increase the export (iv) developing new infrastructure and free programmes
in Istanbul Modern encouraging technology adaptation in art and design (v) initiating a
dialogue for creation of local policy frameworks and discussing necessary policy measures
based on successful models in the UK.
Planned Impact
We have accessed centuries of knowledge about traditional textile making or craft techniques, and new emerging technologies offer a whole range of new materials and tools. In an effort to explore what can happen when the fields of craft, textile design and technology collide, the project will offer new fabrication skills and co-designing methodologies towards the development of bespoke crafted products, across fashion, textiles and wearables.
Global societal demands such as ageing populations, sustainable and ethical practice, clean energy and connected cities/Internet of Things (IoT) requires creativity in terms of manufacturing and materiality. Smart ways of the embodiment of unavoidable technology in art and craft might turn the tables on today's economic bottleneck of creative industries in Turkey, due to reaching high valued products and supporting new practices. Keeping in mind that preservation of craft and its traditional techniques are essential for the modern era, the future landscape for craft could be changed by the advances in materials, processes and technologies. Thus, seeding interdisciplinary collaborations across craft and engineering becomes more critical.
Istanbul Modern is piecing together the relationship between crafts and art with design and new technologies through several of its more recent projects, each of which complement one another. In 2015, the Museum launched its "From Crafts to Design" project, through which it brought craftspeople together with Turkish designers and arts, and supported their collective works. The "International Artist Residency Program," launched in 2018, brought a fresh interpretation to Istanbul's artisan heritage by providing ten international guest artists with the opportunity to meet and collaborate with local craftspeople. Again in 2018, the Museum launched the Art Maker Lab Learning Centre which brings crafts, technology, design, and art together with new technologies. Within the various studios that are part of the scope of the (still active) project, children and youth will be able to experience-both with their families and on their own-how art and crafts can intersect with various disciplines such as artificial intelligence, animation techniques, sound, and storytelling.
These proposed series of events will be open to the artists, designers and researchers working on the intersection of textiles and technology and also the public, to raise awareness of emerging soft smart systems and new materials field for local artists and designers and inspire attendees to push state of the art in their craft. Even though we emphasise on 21st technologies and materials, this series of activities also provide an opportunity to reintroduce traditional Turkish work to a broader audience and define R&D for the creative industries. Understanding traditional scarf block printing (Yemeni), silk weaving, carpet weaving, crochet-oya, we aim to put efforts to create a collaboration platform by reminding the existing knowledge built over the centuries and building new links with the younger generation.
To draw a pathway beyond the project, the final "Ideation and Future Mapping Workshop" will set to search how Turkish creative community can strengthen the position within the innovation ecosystem to maximise the potential of the new generation of designers and artists. Apart from addressing universal and local demands, we will also discuss the practical implications and reality of creative industries in Turkey by referring to successful examples facilitated by the Crafts Council. Through this series of events, we can mutually transfer and share the experience in research and industrial relations to support the local artisans, artists and early career researchers working with textiles to reach a wider audience and discover new elements in crafted textiles.
Global societal demands such as ageing populations, sustainable and ethical practice, clean energy and connected cities/Internet of Things (IoT) requires creativity in terms of manufacturing and materiality. Smart ways of the embodiment of unavoidable technology in art and craft might turn the tables on today's economic bottleneck of creative industries in Turkey, due to reaching high valued products and supporting new practices. Keeping in mind that preservation of craft and its traditional techniques are essential for the modern era, the future landscape for craft could be changed by the advances in materials, processes and technologies. Thus, seeding interdisciplinary collaborations across craft and engineering becomes more critical.
Istanbul Modern is piecing together the relationship between crafts and art with design and new technologies through several of its more recent projects, each of which complement one another. In 2015, the Museum launched its "From Crafts to Design" project, through which it brought craftspeople together with Turkish designers and arts, and supported their collective works. The "International Artist Residency Program," launched in 2018, brought a fresh interpretation to Istanbul's artisan heritage by providing ten international guest artists with the opportunity to meet and collaborate with local craftspeople. Again in 2018, the Museum launched the Art Maker Lab Learning Centre which brings crafts, technology, design, and art together with new technologies. Within the various studios that are part of the scope of the (still active) project, children and youth will be able to experience-both with their families and on their own-how art and crafts can intersect with various disciplines such as artificial intelligence, animation techniques, sound, and storytelling.
These proposed series of events will be open to the artists, designers and researchers working on the intersection of textiles and technology and also the public, to raise awareness of emerging soft smart systems and new materials field for local artists and designers and inspire attendees to push state of the art in their craft. Even though we emphasise on 21st technologies and materials, this series of activities also provide an opportunity to reintroduce traditional Turkish work to a broader audience and define R&D for the creative industries. Understanding traditional scarf block printing (Yemeni), silk weaving, carpet weaving, crochet-oya, we aim to put efforts to create a collaboration platform by reminding the existing knowledge built over the centuries and building new links with the younger generation.
To draw a pathway beyond the project, the final "Ideation and Future Mapping Workshop" will set to search how Turkish creative community can strengthen the position within the innovation ecosystem to maximise the potential of the new generation of designers and artists. Apart from addressing universal and local demands, we will also discuss the practical implications and reality of creative industries in Turkey by referring to successful examples facilitated by the Crafts Council. Through this series of events, we can mutually transfer and share the experience in research and industrial relations to support the local artisans, artists and early career researchers working with textiles to reach a wider audience and discover new elements in crafted textiles.
| Description | The "Crafting Technology for Textiles" project had a delayed start in mid-December 2020, and the extension was granted until August 2021. Due to consecutive travel restrictions against Turkey and the UK throughout the project duration, the project team could not travel and organise any on-site activities as initially proposed. Instead, online panel discussions, knowledge-sharing workshops, and digital interviews were delivered and publicly disseminated throughout the project. In this section, ODA-related key findings are highlighted under each project outcome that mainly includes ODA relevant non-research activities. 1. Project Planning + Logistics The steering committee organised biweekly meetings to plan the management tasks, including the bilateral agreement and project website, and worked on strategies to reach out to the newly built online creative communities in the UK and Turkey. Based on the official development assistance (ODA) axis for Turkey and Istanbul region, in particular, the team highlighted three priorities that have the potential to create social and economic impact for the partner country (i) introducing new textile-making skills through the craft workshops (ii) gathering local and international qualified and creative labour to the participants in Istanbul through the "Thinking Through Making" panel series (iii) sharing textile research and development activities with the young artists and designers and craftspeople to assist in engaging with new design communities including Soft Systems Network based in the UK and young creative initiatives in Istanbul. Throughout the online delivery of project events, we were able to invite and engage with speakers, instructors, and attendees from all over the world. Thus, this helped us to remove the physical barriers and welcomed highly skilled artists and designers, which included Turkey-born artists and designers residing outside of Istanbul. Considering the economic pressure during the pandemic on the young people and creatives, we paid attention to delivering free workshops and offering diverse activities across different time slots on a day that they could fit in their schedule alongside work, school, and childcare commitments. To have an inclusive environment with the participants, we provided simultaneous translation in both languages; thus, we hoped to eliminate language barriers. We had a good turnout in terms of number, age group, and the diversity of attendees, where digital delivery made this possible. In this report, we reported how we tackled the ODA requirements for each activity. The team worked closely with Istanbul Modern's marketing team. Each event was promoted on the museum's official website, where free ticketing was available and publicised using a clear project public-facing and identity. The website was launched linked to the official website of the Istanbul Modern Museum of Art; now, it also acts as the open accessed digital archive of the project. Both RCA and Istanbul Modern promoted all the events in their communication channels, including social media, Twitter/Instagram/Facebook, and monthly newsletters with over 30000 subscribers. All project events were also regularly added to the museum's monthly newsletters. The project almanac, which we called "project publication," as listed in other outputs that recorded each event, was designed within a collaboration of an editor and is now in print for physical distribution and will soon be online for public view. The project events had attracted outstanding attention in the online and printed press and made over 500 appearances in online press and over 50 appearances as a news piece in the printed media. All these efforts in engaging with the public had a good turnout in the attendance level, and we had very long waiting lists, especially for the skill-sharing workshops. Key Outputs: 1. "Thinking Through Making" Panel Discussions These two panel discussions are ODA-relevant non-research activities to start a new dialogue around textiles craft between two countries. Thus, they were designed as provocative talks and welcomed internationally recognised talents and aimed to introduce them to the Turkish audience with the focus of creating societal impact. (i) "Thinking Through Making: Soft Systems" The main aim of these panel discussions was to gather specialist expertise around textiles craft and new methods of making. The project launch was streamed online on the 25th of February 2021 and delivered with simultaneous translation in Turkish and English. The first event series, "Thinking Through Making" was kicked- off with a panel discussion on Soft Systems. The panellists shared their thoughts on soft systems at the forefront of their creative practice throughout the event. They described how "Thinking Through Making" influences their thought processes by exemplifying their research. After the short presentation of the panellists, as the moderator, Dr Berdan Kalav, solicited questions typed in Turkish and English from the audience. Over 50 attendees joined this online event and actively contributed to the discussion. The project team has received such encouraging feedback from the local artisans and design communities in Turkey to co-design future workshops. More details about the event can be found in this public link. https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-soft-systems_2725. The event is also now available on Youtube for public view in both Turkish and English and keeps receiving views and valuable feedback. TR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyVn8Jt3KyE&t=17s EN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqFgcC_Hp_w&t=31s "Crafting Technology for Textiles" publication also gathers the written statement from our panellists: Anne Toomey, Head of Textiles Programme, Royal College of Art Dr Lynn Tandler, Tutor in Weave and Yarn, Royal College of Art Dr Amy Winters, Founder of material-technology studio Rainbow Winters, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology. We initiated new conversations around e-textiles and sustainability in textiles practice; later, those were transformed into workshops to collectively build and share new skills. (ii) "Thinking Through Making: Diversity in Practice" The second event in the series of "Thinking Through Making" series was held online on the 12th of March 2021 by the attendance of local artists and designers who use textiles as a medium in their practice. The public had the opportunity to hear these diverse voices and their traditional Turkish print and craft experiences, along with this century's emerging concerns such as sustainability and technology embodiment. We had a fantastic breadth of Turkish artists and designers under the moderation of Bager Akbay, Artist / Educator, Günes Terkol, Artist "Against the Tide", Begüm Cânâ Özgür, Designer, Studio Begüm Cânâ Özgür "Hands-on: Design Process and Social Impact", Dr Berdan Kalav, Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Textile Technologies Design, Faculty Member "Science Behind the Traditional Turkish Handicraft: Hand block printing example.", Irem Sabanuç Gönül, Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Textile Arts, Faculty Member "On Sustainability - Based Applications in Textiles" and Oguz 'Oz' Buruk, Marie Curie Fellow at Gamification Group, Tampere University "Making Wearables for and through Playful Experiences" joined us as the panellists. The event is also now available on Youtube for public view in both Turkish and English, and keeps receiving views and valuable feedback. In Turkish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U61HsCrjcrU&t=3672s In English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CV7-Z2afUo More details about the event can be found in this public link. https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/past-events/thinking-through-making-diversity-in-practice_2735.html In these two events, we had 105 online attendees from all over the world and later over 800 viewers on the Youtube channel. We attempted to demonstrate and discuss different cultural approaches and mindsets to textiles and craft by exploiting the challenges associated with 21st emerging technologies and materials, by welcoming diverse voices. 7 out of 9 panellists were female artists and designers and shared their unique experiences by being grown and educated in a different part of the world. We had received good feedback during and after the sessions, including individual requests to engage further with the panelists. Based on the received interest, in order to create impact and change either in their career path or thinking for those who had already participated, we redesigned workshops to make them interactive even while participating from home. The first set of workshops was built around technological skills because it was brought up to us that it is not common to have physical computing and coding courses available in Turkish higher education, especially in art and design. Thus, we offered two masterclasses, one introducing e-textiles and the other in coding soft items; each delivery was retuned to respond to the general public; therefore, it did not require any qualification to attend. The second set of feedback was around the environmental concerns and revaluing materials, as noted in our panellist's presentations. Thus, we delivered two masterclasses, which use materials that the participants can access, forge and repurpose, such as food waste in a home environment. The third masterclass cluster is recalling traditional craft and hand skills; we offered two workshops by two amazing Turkey-born artists working with rural communities in Turkey on weaving and stitching/embroidery. All these interactions in the "Thinking Through Making" series helped create a resourceful pathway to bring new skills and thinking into contemporary textile practice. In turn, we had long waiting lists in every workshop and fantastic reviews. The funding also enabled us to provide these workshops free of charge. It made a difference in this economic struggle, especially when they needed slightly expensive electronic boards and e-textiles components. 2. Crafting Technology Workshops Crafting Technology Workshops are ODA-relevant non-research activities aiming at building new skills and thoughts for social and economic welfare. The initial proposal aimed to deliver two hands-on workshops at the museum site. Due to COVID restrictions, the project team decided to offer six workshops online by increasing the capacity and varying the context, from the DIY- textile sensors, natural dyeing, hand construction, and introduction to textile-physical computing. Thus we reached out to more people than we anticipated in the proposal. In partnerships with the Istanbul Modern Communication Team, the workshop announcements were shared through the RCA and Istanbul Modern's social media channels, starting with the first workshop scheduled for the 22nd of April, 2021, and the museum's monthly newsletter. Free ticketing was available on the museum website, and we accommodated up to 17 participants per session. We also offered a workshop kit for the participants in some workshops, particularly those that needed specific consumables, and shipped them to their residential addresses in Turkey. Thus, we could reach out to a wide demographic of participants regardless of their occupation, expertise, and age. The six workshops offered that are listed as ODA relevant non-research activities throughout the project are: 1. "Natural Dyeing From Home" by Hannah Elisabeth Jones on Thursday, April 22, 2021 Hannah led a workshop to experiment and explore the realm of natural dyes and guided the participants throughout the session. In a capacity of 15 people, we reached out to an extensive age demographic from 23 to 65. We strategically designed this first masterclass to tackle "environmental sustainability" concerns. Hannah also shared her experience in leading the workshop in the project publication. The majority of the attendees were female and had clear visions of using natural resources and "home waste" in their practice. Event details can be found here: https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-natural-dyeing-from-home_2767.html 2. "Coded Bodies" by Giulia Tomasello on Thursday, April 29, 2021 The theme emerged in the interactive Q+A session; many more were interested in looking for ways to engage with their creative practices. We had initially proposed to deliver e-textiles workshops. Still, this time we had to tune the workshops, so the participants could access freeware and do coding by using their personal laptops and the home e-textiles kit we provided. The majority of the attendees were college students. Still, we had computer science students who did stitching for the first time and weavers who had no experience understanding electronic circuitry or coding at all. That created a very welcoming dynamic environment that the participants helped each other. Event details can be found here: https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-coded-bodies_2769.html 3. "Time - Patch," by Gunes Terkol on Thursday, June 3, 2021 Gunes Terkol delivered a banner workshop to remind the participants of the use of hands and making based on individual differences. The artist guided them to create sewn and cut colour patches based on the drawings to express their stories. The workshop recalled basic textile-making techniques and infused them with storytelling by contributing emotional wellbeing. We had writers, academicians, educators, accountants, biologists, and economists in the group, and all shared their making and thought processes with each other. The team also welcomed the reflections of the tutor in the project publication. Event details can be found here: https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-time-patch_2833.html 4. "Introduction to E-Textiles: Make a Sensory Object" by Emilie Giles, Saturday, June 12, 2021 Second skill-sharing workshop on e-textiles called "Introduction to E-Textiles: Make a Sensory Object" was organised on a Saturday this time to include those who have weekday commitments. Quoting a teacher participant's words, "it opened up a new revenue in his understanding of STEM education and made him understand of the value of hand skills in future." We had such a good turnout and encouraging feedback from the participants from different professions, including architects, engineers, urban planners, and students, some of who had no experience in textiles at all. Event details can be found here: https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/past-events/https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-introduction-to-e-textiles-make-a-sensory-object_2835.html 5. "Thinking Through Making: You Can Do This Too?" by Nergiz Yesil, Wednesday, June 16, 2021 Nergiz Yesil delivered a workshop on revaluing kitchen waste to make paper-based art forms and offering new opportunities rather than the compost route. The participants later shared their artwork with Nergiz to demonstrate the transformation due to natural decay. Thus, as the project, we had introduced different aspects of using food waste, first in dye-making, and second in converting them into tangible forms and later the artworks. The team attempted to exemplify how we can use compostable materials in textile dyeing and paper materials. As later stated by Nergiz Yesil in her interview, the received feedback pointed out how the workshop changed their perception of waste. Event details can be found here: https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-you-can-do-this-too_2801.html 6. "Weaving Workshop" by Begum Cana Ozgur, Wednesday, June 23, 2021 Begum Cana, residing in New York and highly engaged with rural hand weaving communities in Turkey, uses traditional textile weaving craft. In our Thinking Through Making series, the audience brought some questions about how a textile tool, including a handloom, can be created based on the available local sources, and many more expressed their interest in textile construction such as crochet and weaving. Begum tuned this workshop to show how a simple frame could be used as a weaving tool without making any investment and how versatile it is by giving references from her own experience. Event details can be found here: https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-weaving-workshop_2854.html Each workshop was designed based on the feedback of the panel discussions. As aforementioned, three ODA relevant main themes were put forward (i) technology manipulation in soft structures, (ii) building new skills at home by recalling traditional craft (iii) sustainability in practice aligned with Istanbul Development Agency's strategic goals. We had offered two workshops under each emerging theme, and the instructors had the chance to work with over 90 participants in small groups by providing individual feedback in each step supported by simultaneous translation. It is hard to tell the economic impact, but we can confidently say that we had a high attainment level and a large number of attendees from a very wide demography. Some expressed how they saw clearly the new implementation of these new making ideas. Nevertheless, during the pandemic times, we had created inclusive communities to create and learn together, which is one of the priority areas in Istanbul's Regional Plan "fair sharing, inclusive and learning society" alongside innovative and creative economy initiatives. All the workshops, including the promotion, were managed and planned by the project team. Throughout the session, the tutors were supported by providing simultaneous translation. The team also welcomed the reflections of the tutors in the project publication. 3. Future Mapping of Textiles Practice In the original proposal, we proposed to deliver the ideation workshop with policymakers, local design communities, and artists in Istanbul alongside an interactive display created in the workshop series. Unfortunately, travel restrictions from and to Turkey (and from/to the UK) could not let to organise any physical event during the project duration. Thus, the project team turned its direction to engaging with individuals we originally thought to invite for leading round table discussions. In this interview series called "Future Mapping of Textiles Practice," we welcomed the UK and Turkey-based panelists to reveal the future of textile craft and interdisciplinary thinking and research rooted in culture, heritage, and sustainable consciousness. In an attempt to answer: (i) How can we reintroduce hand-craft and include this tremendous knowledge of artisans into contemporary craft? Textiles artist and Tutor Celia Pym and contemporary Turkish artist residing in London, Esna Su, joined us to share their experience and their creative residencies. (ii) In the light of economic challenges confronting creative businesses, how twisting technology and support can help them to reach a wider community and success? CEO of Crafts Council Annie Warburton shared her perspective about how best to support creative individuals by exemplifying current successful models. (iii) What hybrid skillsets and mindsets can they shape at the intersections of creativity and innovation? We welcomed award-winning entrepreneur Dr Carmen Hijosa who shared her journey starting at the RCA about her sustainable pineapple leather brand business, Ananas-Anam, and Turkish origin bio- artist Nergiz Yesil and her nature-inspired crafted sculptures. We interviewed five inspiring individuals who have contributed to contemporary textile practice from different angles in the below chronological order. These are all listed as ODA-relevant non-research activities. We called the events " In Conversation" series, which are: I. In Conversation with Dr Carmen Hijosa, on 1st of July, 2021 This recording can be found in the below link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9zwSOlFG0o&t=10s II. In Conversation with Annie Warburton, on 9th of July, 2021 This recording can be found in the below link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xz7Z8V-njM&t=2s III. In Conversation with Celia Pym, on 15th of July, 2021 This recording can be found in the below link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ0WxYSksg8&t=10s IV. In Conversation with Esna Su, on 20th of July, 2021 This recording can be found in the below link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qlr7U35ZdE&t=328s V. In Conversation with Nergiz Yesil, on 16th of August, 2021 This recording can be found in the below link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTIr0ugB_A4&t=1765s The scripts of these interview series were published in the project publication, and the professionally edited videos were uploaded to the Youtube channel with subtitles. The project team worked on the branding and editing of the recording. The narrative impact section in this reporting period explicitly describes how each interview tackles ongoing issues in Turkish creative communities based on the feedback of attendees from both panels and workshops. We gathered a playlist of interviews that can still be accessible after the project's end date. 4. Casual Meet-ups The project team received very encouraging feedback from the attendees and recent textile graduates from higher education institutions in Turkey, expressing their interest in Soft Systems-textile practice. We organised casual networking events and invited participants to share their research/ creative approach in 60 seconds with one image/slide. 1st Soft Systems Networking Meet-Up was held online on 30th of March 2021, and a follow-up event was delivered on 30th June 2021. These networking events contributed to the IASDR "Making Smarter in Smart Textile Design and Wearable Technology" Panel, and another led the way to the Soft Systems Special Issue. Especially young graduates interested in contemporary textile practice heard the news of casual meet-ups in the project events, joined us, and used the platform to share their practice with the international audience. However, these events were not promoted with the project branding on the museum site; thus, we did not include them in the engagement section of this reporting period. |
| Exploitation Route | "Democratising of Knowledge" has been one of the key elements in the project impact trajectory. We created an open-access digital archive to make the workshops, interviews, and event contents available for the public alongside the physical publication currently in press. In the original proposal, we had not intended to publish a project review, but this emerged while the project team was navigating the project to have the best benefit for our project participants and contributors. Project almanac that summarises the project events, and key information regarding the contributors, are in press and soon will be physically distributed within the RCA and Istanbul Modern's network. After granting the ISBN, the soft copy of the publication can be found on the museum website, where the project events are stored online and in the museum newsletter. We streamed the panels and the interview series, and later these recordings were uploaded to the museum's official Youtube account with an option to watch with Turkish and English subtitles. Enabling dual-language translation drastically diversifies our audience, especially after the live events. The project team is keen to use this momentum for a creative residency by follow-up funding in the museum's new exhibition site. Due to the pandemic restrictions, we could not organise any physical events within the project time, including a showcase. Thus, the next stage of this partnership will include sustaining long-term creative residencies by welcoming the UK and Turkey-based artists and designers to the museum site alongside new public engagement events. The project team is looking for funding options at the moment to secure the next term plans in their partnership. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
| URL | https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/current-events/thinking-through-making_2723.html |
| Description | Narrative Impact Throughout the project, the project team had worked strategically to monitor each activity's reflections on the creative communities in Turkey to plan out the next. Keeping in mind that preservation of craft and its traditional techniques are essential for the modern era, the future landscape for craft could be changed by the advances in materials, processes, and technologies. As the project team, we navigated the future directions, especially for those who needed extra support either in the making or in translating their thinking. We addressed three forms to the pathway to impact: 1. Knowledge Exchange: Networking Activities, Workshops, and Symposiums: This project was framed as a networking project between the creative sectors based in two countries, the UK and Turkey. Thus, to a certain extent, the immediate impact could be measurable by monitoring the number of people engaged in the activities, attainment level during the sessions, and the attendees' feedback. As each activity was detailed in the key findings section, we organised various events at different participant engagement levels. We had two panel discussions around new advancements in textiles craft and diversity in practice to demonstrate the contemporary textiles landscape. Online delivery of these panels enabled us to welcome Turkish origin artists, academicians, and designers living in different parts of the world and witness their creative journey inspired by traditional Turkish craft. In the original proposal, we aimed to engage with the creative individuals based in Istanbul; the changes in our proposed plan due to COVID restrictions opened up new opportunities in reaching out to a broader audience across Turkey. Besides, we could welcome internationally recognised educators and artists to deliver workshops from all over the world. The panel discussions were followed up on by the masterclasses; we provided six workshops that prioritised ODA relevant three themes such as environmental sustainability, building new technological skills, and recalling traditional Turkish craft. In an attempt to create social impact, all these free-of-charge workshops were aimed at very wide demography with an English-Turkish translator in their presence. We facilitated an inclusive environment for each participant that, regardless of their education and experience, all can benefit from the activity. In turn, we welcomed over 90 active attendees from different professions such as students, accountants, educators, sculptors, screenwriters, stay home mums, chefs, and many more. Each workshop had a long waiting list, and we managed all project communication with the public through studyo@istanbulmodern.org to answer their questions before and after the session and share their feedback. In turn, these impacted our attendee numbers and attainment. The non-research activities listed in the Key Findings section were designed to ensure to meet ODA requirements, including first creating societal impact and then equipping them with new skills to have an economic benefit on an individual basis, not only for the attendees but project contributors as well. As originally proposed, the aforementioned non-research activities contributed to Istanbul's 2014-2020 Regional Plan targets by (i) introducing new textile-making skills through six workshops (ii) gathering local and international qualified creative labour to the Turkish public through the symposiums and the workshops (iii) sharing textile research and development activities with young artists and designers and craftspeople to assist in their career development. We put efforts into building new links with the younger generation of Turkish artists such as Begum Cana Ozgur, Nergiz Yesil, Gunes Terkol and introduce their perspective on hands-on activities with the general public. Thus, this new collaboration with RCA and Istanbul Modern also made a positive contribution to their career and the museum's portfolio. We made the most content online accessible except the masterclass due to protect the intellectual rights of the instructors and actively promoted the events on the social media of RCA and museum channels. They also found themselves a place in the museum's monthly newsletters with over 30000 subscribers and attracted the attention of printed press, as reported in the engagement outcomes. On that note, not only managing the online logistics of events but also structuring and planning the activities contributed to our ODA-focused impact plan. We surveyed among the attendees in the first two symposiums. We highlighted ODA relevant three themes to work around in skill-sharing workshops, which were "sustainability in practice," "learning new technology making skills", and "reminding Turkish craft." During the pandemic, the attendees had the chance to work with internationally recognised experts in their home settings without the need for prior investing. 2. Reshaping the Knowledge and Forecasting Future for Textile Craft: In the original proposal, we planned to gather professionals to discuss how the Turkish creative community can strengthen its position within the innovation ecosystem to maximise the potential of the new generation of designers and artists. Due to COVID restrictions, we could not organise a round-table discussion in Istanbul. Still, instead, we ran an interview series that exampled successful models and knowledge transfer to reach the creative labour's full potential and meet international and national demands. This interview series is shared online in the Istanbul Modern's Youtube channel with the subtitle option, and later the highlights of each interview were put into the project publication. In this series, we listened to the perspectives of Turkey-born artists Esna Su and Nergiz Yesil and UK artists and educator Celia Pym and their diverse creative paths recalling traditional craft. Annie Warburton, CEO of Cockpit Arts, joined us to talk about how they identified local talents and what they do to support their career development through funding and residency opportunities. Dr Carmen Hijosa shared her award-winning sustainable company, Ananas Anam, and how she worked with local authorities and communities for her business. Each interview was strategically planned to demonstrate what is globally and locally available for individuals by exemplifying different possible paths, thus covering a wide range of contexts from fashion to gallery. All these non-research activities with ODA relevance tackled demonstrating the potential career routes for creative talents regionally and internationally. We used both films and printed mediums to exploit these exemplary career stories. 3. Democratising of Knowledge: We launched a project website linked to Istanbul Modern's main site to promote and archive all project-related activities. In an attempt to mutually transfer and share the experience in research and industrial relations to support the local artisans, artists, and early career researchers working with textiles to reach a wider audience and discover new elements in crafted textiles, we also streamed the panels and the interview series on Youtube and created an open-access digital archive. In the original proposal, we did not include a project publication. Still, the project team decided to gather all project activities and the rationale behind designing those in a book publication that can be distributed among academia and the creative sectors. All these different forms of public engagement initially were intended primarily to create social impact for the attendees while addressing plausible pathways to lead economic and environmentally sustainable practices. The received positive feedback from the attendees motivated us to expand the scope of activities by covering more grounds. Thus, we offered extra four workshops and another talk that was not initially planned. It is important to note that not only the participants but also the panelists and tutors had a good experience in promoting their work and building new partnerships. Despite the fantastic breadth of museum experience, a unique textile craft-focused programme was introduced and added to the museum agenda. Thus, each activity as listed in researchfish system contributed to Istanbul's creative ecosystem on different levels and made a positive impact on tackling the regional goal of "fair sharing, inclusive and learning society" and "ascending R&D and innovation" in creative sectors, as announced in the 2014-2023 Istanbul Regional Plan, Development Axes, Priority Areas, and Strategies. It is important to note that our efforts shaped around the regional strategic goals in line with the national plans were expanded to other parts of the country through online delivery. Even though the events were targeted the audience residing in Turkey, we had an outstanding global outreach thanks to the international hosting platforms, open access dissemination, and project publication. Potentially, the outcomes and report would be beneficial to other ODA-listed countries having similar infrastructure. Analysis on Gender Equality The project team put following measures to ensure equal opportunities and meaningful contribution by all participants and genders: The risks were assessed according to the RCA Research Ethics Policy and Process, whose requirements will be fully implemented. The consent of the participants to use imagery, artwork, and recording from the workshops was granted in each workshop. We put extra efforts into engaging with women artists and designers either taught in the link of apprenticeships or former educated. All the workshop's tutors were women, which also helped us to reach local conservative communities. So, we had good women's attendance and participation. Online delivery also enabled us to people who cannot make a visit to the museum, either due to work, childcare commitments, or religious reasons. We ensured a good gender representation in the panel discussions and skill-sharing workshops, and 80% of all the panellists and 100% of all tutors were women. To share the success stories, we intentionally invited women artists and designers born in different parts of Turkey who faced different challenges, customs, and social norms. Thus, they portrayed their teaching curves and experiences of working with local communities in the past and now. Although the project contributors were predominantly female, we have a good gender balance in the attendees, where the male participants mostly expressed their interest in physical computing workshops and how the workshop changed their perception of handcraft such as crochet, weaving, and stitching. All these efforts in engaging with women are still very encouraging, considering the fact that the rate of women's employment is exceptionally low in creative industries, particularly in craft and design, and has only reached a share of 3.08% over a decade ago in Turkey. At least, we had an excellent women turnout in our activities. In summary, all these non-research activities listed in the project outcomes section created the first short-term social and economic impact laying in the individual basis for the attendees and tutors and medium-term local impact for Istanbul Modern. To assess the long-term contribution of the award, in the next reporting period, we will monitor new engagements with the project team, including a potential residency opportunity based in Istanbul and the feedback on the project publication whether the authorities will find it helpful in their local reports. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education,Healthcare,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Economic |
| Description | Project Partnership |
| Organisation | Istanbul Modern |
| Country | Turkey |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | "Crafting Technology for Textiles" - a collaborative project between Istanbul Modern and the Royal College of Art (RCA), London. Our research team has started working with the existing schemes under the roof of the museum and develop a new methodology for creativity, which in turn reinforce Istanbul Modern and Istanbul's unique cultural place in the creative world. Framed within a broad concept of smart textiles-soft systems, our team designs the delivery of skill sharing workshops, and gathers creative individuals based in Turkey and the UK. An interdisciplinary design network between UK-Turkey promotes a creative and sustainable future for craft-based textiles. Throughout the duration of this project, Istanbul Modern and RCA will offer online workshops that explore the territory of craft-technology interactions and new emerging textile technologies and tools. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Istanbul Museum of Modern Art has introduced an innovative and participatory approach to art education through contemporary and interactive practices and significantly contributed to Turkey's growing presence in the international art world. The museum opens the physical and digital infrastructure of the museum to us to welcome professional artists, designers, academicians, and creative individuals in their respective fields to create a collaborative working environment for the future craft. Istanbul Modern promotes the events by providing marketing, event admin and branding support and makes attempts to reach out to the creative initiatives and young design communities based in Turkey. |
| Impact | This partnership brought a life a series of webinars and workshops that the participants could acquire new cross-cultural knowledge and skills by focusing on the relationship between technology and craft in these public events. All these event detailes are also provided under the activity sections of the form. Two online panel discussions: "Thinking Through Making" Panel Discussions (i) "Thinking Through Making: Soft Systems" (ii) "Thinking Through Making: Diversity in Practice" Crafting Technology Workshops "Natural Dyeing From Home" by Hannah Elisabeth Jones on Thursday, April 22, 2021 "Coded Bodies" by Giulia Tomasello on Thursday, April 29, 2021 "Time - Patch", by Gunes Terkol on Thursday, June 3, 2021 "Introduction to E-Textiles: Make a Sensory Object" by Emilie Giles, Saturday, June 12, 2021 "Thinking Through Making: You Can Do This Too?" by Nergiz Yesil, Wednesday, June 16, 2021 "Weaving Workshop" by Begum Cana Ozgur, Wednesday, June 23, 2021 Future Mapping of Textiles Practice Interview Series "In Conversation with Carmen Hijosa" "In Conversation with Esna Su" "In Conversation with Celia Pym" "In Conversation with Annie Warburton" "In Conversation with Nergiz Yesil" Project publication " Crafting Technology for Textiles", currently in press. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | "Coded Bodies" by Giulia Tomasello on Thursday, April 29, 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The theme emerged in the interactive Q+A session of the Thinking Through Making panel discussion series, Giulia led a workshop for the public who had received a special e-textiles making kit before the session. We had 15 active participants. The majority of the attendees were college students but we had computer science students who did stitching for the first time to weavers who had not had any experience with understanding electronic circuitry or coding at all. The workshop and the listing were managed and planned by the project team. Throughout the session, the tutor was supported by providing simultaneous translation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-coded-bodies_2769.html |
| Description | "Introduction to E-Textiles: Make a Sensory Object" by Emilie Giles, Saturday, June 12, 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Second skill-sharing workshop "Introduction to E-Textiles: Make a Sensory Object" was organised with 15 participants on a Saturday this time to include those who have weekday commitments. Quoting a teacher participant's words "it opened up a new revenue in his understanding of STEM education and made him understand of the value of hand skills in future". We had such good turnout and encouraging feedback from the participants from different professions including architects, educators, writers, urban planners, and students, some of who had no experience in textiles at all. The workshop and the listing were managed and planned by the project team. Throughout the session, the tutor was supported by providing simultaneous translation. The team also welcomed the reflections of the tutor in the project publication. The participants received a home e-textiles kit before the workshop. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/past-events/thinking-through-making_2723.html |
| Description | "Natural Dyeing From Home" by Hannah Elisabeth Jones on Thursday, April 22, 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Hannah Elisabeth Jones led a workshop to experiment and explore the realm of natural dyes and guided the participants throughout the session on Thursday, April 22, 2021. In a capacity of 15 people, we reached out to an extensive age demographic from 23 to 65. Hannah also shared her experience on the project publication. Simultaneous translation, English-Turkish was available during the session. The workshop and the listing were managed and planned by the project team. Throughout the session, the tutor was supported by providing simultaneous translation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-natural-dyeing-from-home_2767.html |
| Description | "Thinking Through Making: You Can Do This Too?" by Nergiz Yesil, Wednesday, June 16, 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Nergiz Yesil delivered a workshop with the participation of 15 attendees on revaluing kitchen waste to make paper-based art forms and offering new opportunities rather than the compost route. The participants later shared their artwork with Nergiz to demonstrate the transformation due to natural decay. Thus, as the project, we had introduced different aspects of using food waste, first in dye-making, and second in converting them into tangible forms and later the artworks. The workshop and the listing were managed and planned by the project team. The session was held in Turkish. The team also welcomed the reflections of the tutor in the project publication. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-you-can-do-this-too_2801.html |
| Description | "Time - Patch", by Gunes Terkol on Thursday, June 3, 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Gunes Terkol delivered a banner workshop to remind the participants of the use of hands and making based on individual differences. The artist guided them to create sewn and cut colour patches based on the drawings to express their stories. The workshop recalled basic textile-making techniques and infused them with storytelling. We had 15 active participants from different professions including accountants, journalists, biologists, economists and many more. The workshop and the listing were managed and planned by the project team. The session was held in Turkish. The team also welcomed the reflections of the tutor in the project publication. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-time-patch_2833.html |
| Description | "Weaving Workshop" by Begum Cana Ozgur, Wednesday, June 23, 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Begum Cana, residing in New York and highly engaged with rural hand weaving communities in Turkey, uses traditional textile weaving craft. In our Thinking Through Making series, the audience brought some questions about how a textile tool, including a handloom, can be created based on the available local sources, and many more expressed their interest in textile construction such as crochet and weaving. Begum tuned this workshop to show how a simple frame could be used as a weaving tool without making any investment and how versatile it is by giving references from her own experience. She worked with active 10 participants. The workshop and the listing were managed and planned by the project team. The team also welcomed the reflections of the tutor in the project publication. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-weaving-workshop_2854.html |
| Description | Crafting Technology for Textiles Project's Appearances in Digital and Printed Press |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Throughout the project, project events constantly had found themselves a place both in the digital and printed press. So far, the workshops have had around 500 appearances in Turkish online media and are mentioned in over 50 media pieces in the printed media. Most of them were written in Turkish or aimed at Turkish-speaking audiences. Due to the high volume of numbers, we gathered them in different folders for the report. Online Media Appearances: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1t6EM4vH0sCWeqnmUfQMEXrDxppfchI6m?usp=sharing Printed Press: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1D6hBnSdgVlP5o1vLBHcgePUBTsqhZ5lq?usp=sharing |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1D6hBnSdgVlP5o1vLBHcgePUBTsqhZ5lq?usp=sharing |
| Description | In Conversation with Annie Warburton |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Royal College of Art, Head of Textiles, Anne Toomey and "Crafting Technology for Textiles" Project PI, Dr. Elif Ozden Yenigun welcomed Annie Warburton, CEO of Cockpit Arts, an award-winning social enterprise and London's leading studios for contemporary craft and design on 9th of July 2021. Annie shared her experience in Crafts Council and Cockpit Art and explained how she takes part in deciding the priorities for support. The interview is now available on Youtube with the subtitle option. The project team worked on the branding and editing of the recording. The highlights were also included in the project publication. - an ODA-relevant non-research activity |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xz7Z8V-njM&t=10s |
| Description | In Conversation with Celia Pym |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Crafting Technology for Textiles" Project PI, Dr. Elif Ozden Yenigun, welcomed Celia Pym, award-winning textile artist, and tutor, on the 15th of July 2021. Celia answered our questions about her experience as an artist and tutor and her partnerships as part of creative communities. The interview is now available on Youtube with the subtitle option. The project team worked on the branding and editing of the recording, and the highlights were also included in the project publication. - an ODA-relevant non-research activity |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ0WxYSksg8&t=3s |
| Description | In Conversation with Dr. Carmen Hijosa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Royal College of Art, Head of Textiles, Anne Toomey and "Crafting Technology for Textiles" Project PI, Dr. Elif Ozden Yenigun welcomed Dr. Carmen Hijosa, the Founder and Chief Creative & Innovation Officer for Ananas Anam Ltd. on 1st July 2021. Carmen answered the questions about her design thinking and interdisciplinary research leading to the development of pineapple leather. The interview is now available on Youtube with the subtitle option. The project team worked on the branding and editing of the recording, and the highlights were also included in the project publication. - an ODA-relevant non-research activity |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/Z9zwSOlFG0o |
| Description | In Conversation with Esna Su |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Royal College of Art, Head of Textiles, Anne Toomey and "Crafting Technology for Textiles" Project PI, Dr. Elif Ozden Yenigun, welcomed Esna Su, a textile and jewelry designer, on the 20th of July 2021. Su envelopes her pieces with heritage, using traditional Turkish techniques of weaving, twining, and crochet. She shared her perspective and the creative journey that started in the UK. The interview is now available on Youtube with the subtitle option. The project team worked on the branding and editing of the recording. The highlights were also included in the project publication. - an ODA-relevant non-research activity |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qlr7U35ZdE&t=3s |
| Description | In Conversation with Nergiz Yesil |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Melodi Gulbaba welcomed Turkish origin bio- artist Nergiz Yesil and her nature-inspired crafted sculptures on the 16th of August 2021. Nergiz talked about her making processes leading to her MA dissertation "Use of Biological Materials in Artworks" and shared her experience in running "Thinking Through Making: You Can Do This Too?!" workshop as part of Crafting Technology for Textiles project. The interview is now available on Youtube with the subtitle option. The project team worked on the branding and editing of the recording. The highlights of this conversation were also included in the project publication. - an ODA-relevant non-research activity |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTIr0ugB_A4 |
| Description | Istanbul Modern's Monthly Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Istanbul Modern has over 30000 subscribers who follow the monthly newsletter. The project team worked with the marketing team in the museum to promote the events and inform the press. The folder in the below URL link has examples of these monthly announcements from February to June 2021. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LjuLJ_v4n0pY-nnwM_-PiCWGPpmUb7vi?usp=sharing |
| Description | Thinking Through Making: Diversity in Practice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The second event in the series of "Thinking Through Making" series was held online on the 12th of March 2021 by the attendance of local artists and designers who use textiles as a medium in their practice. The public had the opportunity to hear these diverse voices and their traditional Turkish print and craft experiences, along with this century's emerging concerns such as sustainability and technology embodiment. We had a fantastic breadth of Turkish artists and designers under the moderation of Bager Akbay, Artist / Educator, Günes Terkol, Artist "Against the Tide", Begüm Cânâ Özgür, Designer, Studio Begüm Cânâ Özgür "Hands on: Design Process and Social Impact", Dr Berdan Kalav, Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Textile Technologies Design, Faculty Member "Science Behind the Traditional Turkish Handicraft: Hand block printing example.", Irem Sabanuç Gönül, Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Textile Arts, Faculty Member "On Sustainability - Based Applications in Textiles" and Oguz 'Oz' Buruk, Marie Curie Fellow at Gamification Group, Tampere University "Making Wearables for and through Playful Experiences" joined us as the panellists. The recording of the event is available on Youtube for online views. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CV7-Z2afUo |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-diversity-in-practice_2735.html |
| Description | Thinking Through Making: Soft Systems |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | "Thinking Through Making: Soft Systems" is the very first online event organised as part of the project that the panelists and project researchers shared their thoughts on soft systems at the forefront of their creative practice and described how "Thinking Through Making" influenced their thought processes. Over 50 attendees joined this online event and actively contributed to the discussion. The event had received considerable attention, particularly in the print and electronic media, and shared by many creative blogs and online websites as listed below: In press (in Turkish)- 5 appearances https://stream.interpress.com/temp/d59d44d3-db64-4db5-800c-86eb6512216b.html Online (in Turkish and English)- 89 appearances https://stream.interpress.com/temp/75c6bbd6-bfbb-46c9-8d53-dc543c1b77d2.html We offered simultaneous translation and archived the content both in English and in Turkish. The digital archive can be accessible on Istanbul Modern's Youtube channel, and RCA Soft Systems Group's accounts. In Turkish: https://youtu.be/WyVn8Jt3KyE In English: https://youtu.be/YqFgcC_Hp_w |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/events/thinking-through-making-soft-systems_2725.html |