Understanding the transformative potential of textile crafting in empowering individuals, communities, and society at large
Textile communities serve as reservoirs of knowledge, fostering social systems like care, support, and health. Engaging in textile craft group activities has a positive influence on well-being, it fosters tranquillity, fortifies identities, facilitates cultural-social transitions, and promotes activism. Recognizing and amplifying the potent influence of textile crafting may unlock solutions to contemporary societal challenges, such are demographic changes, migrations, gender violence, and climate change.
The ageing population, pressure on healthcare systems, migrations caused by violence and climate changes, and structural inequalities are causing the disintegration of the social fabric. Local-level community groups engaged in resilience and empowerment through arts and crafts activities need to be acknowledged as agents of change.
We used existing literature, practical knowledge, and expert know-how to systematize the benefits and effects of textile crafting. The textile community is the largest community that has ever existed in the history of mankind. We aimed to recognize the spatial aspect of handiwork and the symbolical marking of the space as belonging to one group. We have researched how textile crafting in groups impacts individuals and their environment.
Our findings are categorized into six areas and can be applied throughout various fields of the culture welfare sector. We have connected the effects of textile crafting with six distinct spatial aspects. They can be interpreted as physical, mental, or semantic spaces. Textile communities are recognized as spaces of:
Categorization of textile crafting benefits strives to help
THE MANUAL:
You can download the manual here. (in Slovene)
News in Slovene: https://layer.si/bien/en/kr/tekstilne-skupnosti-kot-prostori-moci/
Listen to the interviews with members of good practices at the textile crafting field:
Empowering Textile Communities and their Social Impact https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxzNo8lz178&list=PLPqjX7d1cnWuSE6DNC73TodgREzoVlBb-&pp=iAQB
The purpose of the manual is to present the benefits of textile creation for individuals and society. When textile handicraft work is a voluntary and leisure activity, it positively influences us and enhances the quality of our lives. Textile communities represent a source of knowledge with which we can strengthen social systems (care, support, health, transitions, emancipation, etc.).
Supported by the ACF in Slovenia 2014-2021 Fund
Jasmina Ferček is a textile artist and a master of art therapy. Through conversations with women, she explores the significance of their creative experiences with textiles. She has been active in the Oloop collective for 20 years, focusing on participatory and psycho-socially engaged textile art. She examined the impact of textile creation on the well-being and health of women in her master’s thesis, and in 2022, she authored a book titled “The Power of Textile.” She is also a member of the Slovenian Association of Art Therapists (SZUT) and the European Federation of Art Therapy (EFAT).
Zala Orel has been employed at the Carnica Institute as an executive producer and artistic director since 2014. She was responsible for the artistic vision and development of cultural programs at Layer House for ten years. Since 2019, she has been developing the BIEN Textile Art Biennial. Orel holds a master’s degree in communications from the University of Ljubljana and is a doctoral candidate at Charles University in Prague, specializing in social geography and regional development.
BIEN Textile Culture is carried out in partnership by two non-governmental organizations, Carnica Institute from Kranj and Oloop Institute from Ljubljana. The program aims to strengthen knowledge and practices among individuals within the non-governmental, research, educational, and caregiving environments, as well as to inform policymakers and the public about the beneficial effects of manual textile creation within a group. The program seeks to fill the gap in researching the societal significance and effects of textile creation as psychosocial support on both Slovenian and international levels.
