“Soft Negotiations” in Vilnius Academy of Arts

“Soft Negotiations”
EKA (Estonian Academy Of Arts) Department of Textile Design
25/04/2022–15/05/2022

Vilnius Academy of Arts gallery “Artifex”,  Gaono g.1, Tue to Sun 12.00–18.00

The exhibition presents works by students and teaching staff of the Estonian Academy of Arts that investigate the all-encompassing role of textile design. Besides conventional roles, new hybrid forms emerge, presenting new knowledge in the context of artistic research. Emerging technological approaches are demonstrated, in which textile, interwoven with digital properties or technology at different levels, mediates collaborative processes in design of social interaction.

Just as the warp threads connect the weft, serving as a bridge for each other, this exhibition by the Department of Textile Design invites audiences to ponder the role of textile in today’s and future society. At the exhibition, the department presents contemporary trends that often straddle or meld with the boundaries of other disciplines. That in turn creates a new, multidisciplinary approach where textile can take very different forms: it can convey structure, idea, protest, message, self-expression, pattern or simply colour combination.

The exhibition has three conceptual threads, which intersect each other:
Textile as STATE(MENT)
#critical and conceptual practices
Textile as LAB
#experimental practice #flirting with science #biotextiles #new materials and structures
Textile as WELLBEING
#design that values the environment and well-being #sustainability #recycling #healthcare #social responsibility #therapy

Participants: Frank Abner, Arife Dila Demir, Katrin Kabun, Kadi Kibbermann, Mari-Triin Kirs, Kristi Kuusk + Ana Tajadura-Jiménez (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) + Aleksander Väljamäe (University of Tartu), Krista Leesi, Kille- Ingeri Liivoja + Juulia Aleksandra Mikson, Greth-Ann Loog + Riina Samelselg + Anete Vihm, Nithikul Nimkulrat (OCAD UNIVERSITY), Marin Nooni, Maria Kristiin Peterson, Piret Roos + Liisa Torsus, Zane Shumeiko, Marie Vihmar + Sirje Sasi (TLU), Piret Valk, Varvara & Mar + Sebastian Mealla

Curators: Varvara Guljajeva (HKUST(GZ)), Kristel Laurits, EKA Department of Textile Design
Graphic design: Jesus Rodriguez Santos
Exhibition team: Kristi Kuusk, Varvara Guljajeva, Krista Leesi, Kadi Kibbermann, Piret Valk