sammar khalifa

oxford  dictionary  The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change:growing activism on the abortion issue

thesaurus 

the meaning of activism: the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change .

design activism represents an emerging movement of socially and environmentally engaged practises 

-Amy twiggier

I can relate to the meaning of activism in my own practise in designer maker and embroidery.it is more relevant in designer maker as we use craft to present our thoughts through our products.

can you think of a better terminology for activism?

speaking out 

changing a state of something

Providing the opportunity to find new community connections through creative practices

A new trans-national, inter-disciplinary and cross-generational cultural project, questioning and exploring the boundaries between the older generation, the society and cultural setting in which they live. *Dr. Don A. Grady, Elon University, North Carolina

"Where are the older people and why doesn't society recognise their presence more in popular culture?"

why is creativity necessary to solve challenges?

I think the older people are often being forgotten about and the only way we can solve this is by  creating community projects to bring all the elderly together.I think it depends on the culture and country for example in many African cultures they don’t face the same problem and elderly are  never forgotten about because they always have their say and are never dumped in a care home.so how can we solve this? 

I would advertise it in different ways.get some people to to wear  T-shirts that advertise /promote and make them do a little dance, perform to grab  peoples attention.give people in schools and colleges leaflets to give it to old people  working teaching ( in high schools) with college its most likely for them to be studying so I  would visit the college and give a talk to persuade elderly people to come and join 

elderly people being put in care homes effects their mental being and causes them to be anti-social due to depression and lack of attention.sometimes the case is different elderly start to feel excluded anyway even if they live with their families.they start to isolate themselves because of fear of people forgetting about them or being to busy to spend time with them.

what sort of activity I would do

I would use my practise (embroidery) to teach them  3D techniques and make them use unconventional materials to create 3D structures which will help them become more adventurous.I would also do project with them where we help people in need for example the homeless and refugees in that way they will have no free time and will be busy trying  to  create things for people.so they will think of other people instead of themselves

references :

fig 1. wall hanging detail ( indian textiles )

fig 2. square tapestry panel 

refrences :

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/the-fabric-of-india/about-the-exhibition/     V& A

fig 1.the traditional cloth (sherabot) used to cover the camels hump for the bride to sit on 

fig 2.women made the exact same cloth using different colours for the wall

hidden histories of socially engaged textiles in Eritrea 

I couldn't  really find anything on line of any socially engaged textiles of the past so I decided to look in my own culture and heritage I asked a few relatives and friends.the majority couldn't really think of anything.but I had one family friend who remembers women  crafting like a traditional carpet.women would sit together and make it as a group..they would make it to cover the hump of a camel.or to decorate a house of a newly wed couple  but its not used that much nowadays I could hardly find any pictures but took a few screenshots of a video.its unbelievable how its so forgotten. but know that  it was before the war around 1998

The culture of Eritrea has been largely shaped by the country's location on the Red Sea coast Eritrean’s share an appreciation for similar  jewellery and fragrances, and tapestry and fabrics as other populations in the Horn region.

hidden histories of socially engaged textiles in India

the handmade fabrics of India  still inspire young designers around the world today which makes Indian textiles still so modern even though the patterns and fabric style has been created  6000 years ago. India’s handmade textiles are so rich in colour and pattern it shows the skill that is embedded within Indian culture . The history of the fabrics at the V &  A are at least 6000 years old .  while people of Hindu( religion) still find expression through sacred cloths.for centuries all countries around the world have been trading fabrics from India.its not just the fabrics but even the use of embroidery within the fabrics 

hidden histories of socially engaged textiles

Ancient Egypt 

the university of Huddersfield has a various sections within the art and design department.I had a look at sculptural thinking 

they observe Practices of carving and  casting as well as modelling

they are  linked  with the inherited concepts of sculptural construction, but the impact of new productions of materials in the twenty first century  offer up different modes of thinking about sculptural form.

within this course student explore the following contexts the:

 technical

cultural 

industrial

there visual research is inspired by 

big data and visualisation

philosophies and histories of materials 

sculptures in public, for example statues

Sculpture and the archive

 Engineering sculptural materials

Andy Warhol

The part of the lecture that interested me was Andy Warhol and the collection of his archives. I decided to watch the video about his life so I can get a better understanding not just of his work but also of his personality. It’s better than looking into a website.

Summary of video:

All I knew about Andy Warhol before watching the video was that he was storing all his work in order and had a special storing place. Looking at the video made me feel like I was present in the times of Andy Warhol. He was known for being very shy and distinctive. He started drawing when he was getting sick a lot in high school. His cousins said that no one knew what he was like but they later on discovered his thoughts and personality when he started to draw they realised that he had the same interest as them despite them being girls. He always made people feel special by saying that they are superstars. He was described as “genuine as a finger print”.

He was influenced quit a lot by his mum because she was a religious woman and had a good sense of humour. His friends at college always felt like he wasn’t influenced by the art lessons at college he was influenced by joseph horns magazine which he ended up working for later on in his life. Warhol later realised that he would have no future in Pittsburgh so he decided to move to New York and go to university there. Being regular at a place in the eastside called serendipity 3, all fashion models and movie stars would meet Andy Warhol use to go there quite a lot.

He then decided to become a commercial artist. He started to have an interest for feet and shoes. Drawing anything at random gave him a lot of ideas which was a reason for his success. More companies wanted Andy to illustrate for them like harbour bizarre.

His first exhibition was in 1952.in the same year he decided to make his own team. He became friends with people who had a similar interest as him. They use to paint their faces sing and and take videos at random as well as smoking and taking drugs.

His paintings where inspired by politics and films. What I liked about his work was that if he got inspired by the cover of a newspaper he would just copy the cover of the newspaper exactly as it is.He is very well known for his paintings of movie stars like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. He later on decided to change his style of drawing by repeating the same drawing but in a smaller scale and making it colourful.

The Campbell soup cans became very famous after Andy Warhol had illustrated them several times.one of his famous movies made was sleep. It’s quite unusual that all the movies Andy made had no concept they were random just like the drawings he did. When he got asked at an interview why he made films he answered: “it’s easier than drawing” which to me meant that he saw making films like illustrating but in a different way

1st: photo:shells from eritrea (11.15)

1.       the meaning and purpose of the exhibition

a.      How are the art pieces ordered or arranged?

All the pieces are structured. And are all structured based on size, the big pieces are put together and small pieces are put together. And look quite old. You can tell that they are not modern day

It’s like a collection or record of something

B.The theme and subtext of the exhibition is “thought positions in sculpture.”

What I understood from the subtext and the installations on display is that the archives are a starting point. I found that quite unusual.

C.How is the exhibition different from others I’ve seen?

When I first came in I expected to see all sorts of modern crafted pieces but I realized that not all pieces where crafted. Some of the crafted pieces where crafted as part of the outcome. This exhibition is very unusual to me and I found it very difficult to understand. It’s challenging as well as inspiring.

2. Elements of interest

a.I was really interested in the nail polish and the stones that where presented I really wanted to know the story behind them.it was quite unexpected for me when I found out that the pictures of the mills where a starting point for the artist.

B. after going to the symposium and fully understood the the concept behind each piece of work/installation, there is this strong connection between Dr. Townsley’s work and the shells which I collected 10 years ago at a school trip in the Netherlands. It reminded me of how I felt whilst collecting the shells. Each piece was distinctive and so unique I had never seen such tiny shells before. Felt this nostalgic longing at the time, Asif I knew that that year was my final year in the Netherlands. I kept these shells in a handmade pot which I made at the start of that year (2005) in my history lesson where we were being taught about the history of Dutch pottery which is called “aardewerk” in Dutch. After the symposium I went back home and looked back at the pot and the shells I realised how I always use to keep stuff automatically and that I have a lot of archives but never noticed.

3. Wider context

The 10 contemporary artists have used archives as starting points to link it in with their pratise.They have explained how the archive they have chosen links in with their practise. The archives they have used are from places like the Henry Moore institute, Leeds museum and the British library.

B.yes

C. there was one event which was on the symposium of thought position is sculpture on the 12th of November in the heritage quay at the university of Huddersfield.

Own response as a practitioner

A.      How would I approach this topic from the perspective of my own creative textile practise?

Reflecting on DR Townsley’s work I would have done something similar to her where I would collect objects and manipulate them. However her interpretation is different to mine. I would destruct my collected objects to show pain dictatorship, betrayal and sufferings. Taking the stones from Marsden painting them and then displaying them in a different location reminded  me of refugees from all around the world and how they have been destructed from their home lands as well as mentally, physically and emotionally, and have no choice but to flee their countries. Just like Dr Townsley’s stones which have been taken and will never be reunited with their old location, my installation would show that. I would collect objects and cloth which is from my home country destruct them and then sew them together showing how not just people but the country has fallen apart. I would pick certain colours of yarn and thread which represent the country like for example green and blue (colours of the old flag)stitching them together wouldn’t only show  the destruction but it would also show  how the country was once united.

Sue Riley: Is a textile print artist and surface decorator. She is based in Hampshire. She produces hanging mobile phones, wall pieces and objects.She has recently started to engage with recycled materials. She has worked with a lot of of fashion/domestic markets. Since 2005 her studio practise has has focused on social issues linked with local community projects. Sue also develops work within arts and health.

http://umbrellawinchester.ning.com/profile/sueriley

 Tara st James: Tara St. James of study NY strives for no waste production and incorporates recycled materials into her designs. It still manages to look very professional and elegant

http://study-ny.com/

 Andrea bonelli: Andrea Bonelli creates her delicate metal and gem pieces using recycled silver and gold from hoover and strong. She likes to jump at the chance to integrate new and old techniques to create something different. She is also self-taught.

You can visit her website for more information