Menu
This process-driven project utilizes database storytelling to create insightful narratives that document and represent textile heritage in the selected regions. Forget big data and dive into local grassroots data! Through participatory research, we will map connections to textile heritage and their communities of practice in Slovenia, Greece and Poland.
During three art and research-based residencies, each involving five students or young professionals of culture and art, one invited artist, one heritage researcher and local communities, we will collect fieldwork data, document the process and form various databases. Photographs, audio and video recordings, written descriptions and sketches, will serve as data documentation for analytics and visualization. In a 6-week residency project, the interdisciplinary team will transform the data into a tangible textile piece, with subsequent exhibition projects.
We are searching for 15 students or culture and art young professionals to join us in the project. We will start in Greece at the intensive Database Storytelling Workshop Programme. Apply below, we are looking forward to meeting you!
OPEN CALL
Are you the person we are looking for?
What will happen in Ioánnina from May 5-9, 2025?
Three-Day Intensive Database Storytelling Workshop Programme will be developed at the University of Ioánnina, School of Fine Arts, Department of Fine Arts and Art Sciences. The workshop is designed to be intensive, providing in-depth training and practical experience in conducting participatory research and using digital documentation and databases to tell compelling living heritage stories through data visualisation and the medium of textile. 15 young artists, designers and heritage professionals from Slovenia, Greece, and Poland will explore and understand the importance of research and storytelling in their work, as they will be provided with the methodologies, tools and techniques needed to effectively tell the stories of specific micro-regions. The workshops will also provide a supportive and inclusive environment for the participants to develop their skills, network with others in the field, and share their ideas and experiences.
The first phase of the database storytelling map tool will be co-developed in Ioánnina.
Apply here: https://forms.gle/fA967D9tGotSJbhE6
Apply by Feb 14, 2025 until midnight (CET). Results will be in until the end of February.
Exploring textile heritage landscapes through database storytelling
This process-driven project utilizes database storytelling to create insightful narratives that document and represent textile heritage in the selected regions. Forget big data and dive into local grassroots data! Through participatory research, we will map connections to textile heritage and their communities of practice in Slovenia, Greece and Poland. During three art and research-based residencies, each involving five students or young professionals of culture and art, one invited artist, one heritage researcher and local communities, we will collect fieldwork data, document the process and form various databases. Photographs, audio and video recordings, written descriptions and sketches, will serve as data documentation for analytics and visualization. In a 6-week residency project, the interdisciplinary team will transform the data into a tangible textile piece, with subsequent exhibition projects.
Tying the European Cultural Landscapes with
KNOTS AND PATTERNS
Exploring textile heritage landscapes through database storytelling
Knots and Patterns is a collaborative project promoting and preserving European intangible cultural heritage through database storytelling showcasing cultural textile landscapes. During the project (2025-2026) partners from Slovenia, Greece, and Poland develop an environment for young artists and cultural professionals to critically reflect on sustainable methods of textile production. The consortium seeks to explore the idea of slow art. Database storytelling will engage communities and end-users in co-creating an interactive map documenting intangible cultural heritage practices in selected European regions.
The project involves interdisciplinary groups and co-creation residencies in three cities, focusing on regions with strong emotional connections to textile heritage. The project will culminate in the production of three series of small-scale pieces or one large-scale textile exhibition piece that integrates data visualization. While promoting inclusive transformation, the project seeks to safeguard traditional textile heritage through innovative methods and to raise awareness of ethical, sustainable, and creative approaches. This is achieved through a range of initiatives, including discursive webinars, interactive workshops, collaborative co-creation residencies, and engaging exhibitions.
Expected results include the development of an interactive map showcasing cultural textile landscapes, production and exhibition of textile pieces integrating data visualization, and research documentation of the process. The project aims to benefit young artists and cultural professionals, textile artists, researchers, and local communities, contributing to transnational creation and circulation of European works and artists.
The project aims to introduce database storytelling as an art-based methodology, providing a step-by-step practical guide for integrating data processing in storytelling contexts. With the use of participatory research methods, mentoring and focus on the production process, the consortium seeks to explore the idea of interdisciplinaryart with a sustainability impact. Database storytelling in art and culture involves digital storytelling combined with the analysis and interpretation of data in order to create insightful narratives to capture,organize and visualize information about textile heritage in the selected regions.
Digital documentation: The process of capturing information through various means such as photographs, audio and video recordings, and textual descriptions, will be followed by organizing this information into a structured format, such as a database, applying (meta)data standards. This process will provide an in-depth and actionable approach to understanding the cultural significance of textile heritage in the region.
Data visualization process: Using data to tell a story introduces new potentials to the storytelling practice, bringing in data-driven forms of narrative expression. The project will lead to the development of a comprehensive workflow that includes data processing for interdisciplinary heritage storytelling contexts. Database storytelling can further enhance interactive narrations by utilising data from various sources (e.g. heritage collections, humanities repositories, geographical information systems).
Community-based research: This research method involves bottom-up, community- driven involvement in scholarly research, bringing together communities of practice, artists, scholars, cultural professionals, students, and citizens to co-document the field of living heritage in relation to ecology and cultural textile heritage of a selected geographical area. The aim is to document multiple perspectives and sources of knowledge in the regions, uncovering multiple physical sites, spanning from natural points of interest to spaces of action, individual experiences, local community initiatives, artistic interventions, related festivities and gatherings, monuments of landscape and documented oral traditions.
The Webinar Series will be held online (March 2025) and focused on how the approach to data representation through database storytelling can be used in the field of arts, aiming to enhance the capacity of participants in creative digital scholarship in the arts and humanities by providing relevant resources and presenting tools, applications and techniques.
Together with field experts, digital heritage documentation (Europeana, national archives etc.) scientists, artists, and students, the online lectures series will aim to research and share knowledge of the principles of sustainability in art and intangible heritage, environmentally responsible art, community participation possibilities and database storytelling as a tool to capture the content created.
The workshop (May 5-9, 2025) is designed to be intensive, providing in-depth training and practical experience in conducting participatory research and using digital documentation and databases to tell compelling living heritage stories through data visualisation and the medium of textile.
15 young artists, designers and heritage professionals from Slovenia, Greece, and Poland will explore and understand the importance of research and storytelling in their work, as they will be provided with the methodologies, tools and techniques needed to effectively tell the stories of specific micro-regions. The workshops will also provide a supportive and inclusive environment for the participants to develop their skills, network with others in the field, and share their ideas and experiences.
An interactive map will be developed to showcase the work of participants and highlight the cultural significance of textile heritage. While documenting intangible cultural heritage practices in selected European regions, the map will provide an engaging and accessible platform for various audiences to explore and discover the diversity of cultural landscapes. Participatory research will be conducted to further assist in addressing ecological sustainability through the social lens of collective responsibility. The map will be accompanied by a toolkit with simple instructions for future use and growth of grassroots data.
The goal of the interdisciplinary exchanges is to create three series of small scale or one large scale tapestries that use database storytelling for addressing local textile heritage and sustainable practices in heritage preservation. The tapestries will serve as a canvas for a visualisation of collective knowledge, memories and happenings related to cultural and natural heritage in the region. The interdisciplinary residencies will bring together one artist, one researcher, and an interdisciplinary team of students for a period of six weeks in three cities: Kranj, Ioannina, and Gdansk.
The residencies will provide a unique opportunity for the artist, researcher, and students to collaborate and experiment. The interdisciplinary nature of the residency will encourage the exchange of ideas and perspectives, leading to innovative and thought-provoking work. During the residency, the team will have access to all the resources they need to create their projects, including state-of-the-art facilities, materials, and equipment. They will also have the opportunity to interact with local communities and organizations to gather information, research, and inspiration for their work.
The final phase of the project includes the creation of a compelling exhibition display showcasing three cultural textile landscapes with the use of a database storytelling approach. By utilizing multimedia elements such as photographs, audio and video recordings, written descriptions and sketches, the exhibition will provide a comprehensive and immersive experience for visitors, allowing them to learn about the database storytelling, regions and landscapes, and the cultural context in which they were created. The exhibition will consist of a series of small scale or one large scale tapestries, showcasing their unique aspects and exploring the historical and cultural significance, as well as the perspectives and techniques.
Textile Art Biennial BIEN shapes new contemporary expressions of textile art and design, and encourages interdisciplinary artistic collaboration. The exhibitions feature works by international and Slovenian artists, with a special emphasis on the best current domestic and international student productions. The biennial program focuses on various audiences and explores the effects of textile creation with them. Carnica Institute is a cultural non-governmental organisation based in Kranj, Slovenia. Since it was established in 2010, its main activities have been managing cultural public infrastructure, managing and organizing cultural and social events, activities and campaigns, implementing the connections and collaborations between communities, cultural operators and local government, and developing and implementing cultural strategies.
The “Knots and Patterns” project reflects BIEN’s commitment to providing students and young professionals with a platform to understand the importance of collaborative research and exploration within art and craft projects. BIEN’s goal is to create an insightful environment that promotes teamwork and interdisciplinary practices, resulting in contemporary interpretations of textile heritage.
The Biennale of Western Balkans (BoWB) is a non-profit organisation based in Greece, initiated in 2018 within the History of Art Laboratory, University of Ioannina. The organisation promotes, researches, and documents intangible heritage in the Balkans, specialising in two key areas—using and developing digital tools and infrastructures for heritage documentation with emphasis on open-source technologies and digital inclusion, and employing participatory research and open science methodologies to document local communities of practice that often remain outside museum frameworks. The programme includes research and educational activities, publications, talks and exhibitions, primarily supporting local communities, artists, and researchers, by contributing to cross-border mobility, regional cultural cooperation, and inclusive civic engagement.
The “Knots and Patterns” project aligns with BoWB’s mission to connect intangible cultural heritage with art and technology, inspiring people to experience tradition anew. The project leverages digital tools for documenting intangible heritage in participatory ways, resulting in the release of useful digital resources such as machine-readable data, and an interactive map that aims to represent geospatial information in an accessible format. With its residencies and workshops, the project supports cross-border mobility for artists and researchers and the partnership further enhances regional cultural cooperation.
The Department of Ethnography is a part of The National Museum in Gdańsk – one of the oldest museums in Poland responsible for culture and protection of national heritage. The Department of Ethnography has collected and studied about 9000 exhibits, mostly of folk culture, which are the presentation of the basic forms of the rural economy and activities of the people of Pomerania – fishing, farming, animal husbandry, art and crafts. The Department carries out research related to cultural heritage, entering customs on the National List of Cultural Intangible Heritage, publishing scientific results and producing documentary films. Educational activities focus on promoting local and foreign cultural heritage – traditional crafts and folk art, storytelling and culinary heritage.
The “Knots and Patterns” project fits in perfectly with the Department’s activities as the museum is a place for collaboration with folk artists and craftsmen practicing traditional artistic techniques such as embroidery, weaving, knitting or crochet. We work with folk textile craft groups active in the region, invite people to workshops, conduct research on textile crafts and collaborate with contemporary artists and textile companies.
Support:
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Partners:
BIEN Textile Art Biennial (Carnica Institute), BOWB Biennale of Western Balkans, the National Museum in Gdańsk
