By Alejandra Arevalo
When talking about how craft practices create community bonds, many thoughts come to mind, so let's go in parts first. What are community ties? Community is a type of social relationship based on strong ties such as feelings, common traditions or beliefs, such as the ties we have with our parents, neighbors or friends. And I love this part of "strong connections like feelings", because I precisely consider that this sentimental theme, of what is handmade, of warmth is immersed in artisanal practices... but there is also everything that happens around the elaboration of that object created by an artisan, the processes, the slow times, the detail, the thoughts that are transferred to that object and the other implicit hands of those who were linked to the creation of that piece.
And here I present a topic that for me is a bit complex to address and that today is seen a lot in the collaborations that are created between communities that develop textile artisan practices and fashion brands, where designers often take advantage of their cultural and creative wealth for their convenience or appropriate the symbols belonging to a community (confusing the concept of authorship). Of course not all cases are the same. There are several brands and designers who have known how to responsibly and consciously revalue and redefine the work of artisan communities, favoring in some way the economic and cultural development of the most disadvantaged regions or, on the other hand, establishing links that integrate artisans in commercial circuits, where before perhaps it was inaccessible to them. At the same time, on the consumer side, I consider that more and more they are betting on brands or ventures that are connected with some purpose, since they are tired of serial work and therefore are more attracted to pieces with history and emotions. Furthermore, consumers have the function of recognizing and validating the work of artisans, completing this cycle to transfer links in a responsible and ethical manner, appealing to the collective and thus seeking to also belong to a community through their purchases.
Although I think that for a fair, empathetic reason and because in that exchange where different cultural expressions occur in artisanal practices and people make their values and ideas known, I believe that we as designers can bond a little more with the communities and have a greater understanding of what surrounds these artisanal practices, and that it not only remains in a work or commercial part. Within the framework of the production of the pieces, community scenarios or intercultural spaces must also be created... there must be an afterlife, where through different experiences and contexts such as workshops or exchange activities, the designer is linked through from different spaces, thus generating even more strengthening of the links that brands often boast about. In many cases, artisans tend to distrust designers, but when you have correct, ethical conduct, things grow and flourish, and that is the basis for a good relationship, also because it combines the best of both worlds.
And with this, the textile work called Traveling Sewing Box Project, by the designer Victoria Martinez Azaro and the ALAC association, comes to mind, where they created a link or bridge so that women who migrate from rural areas to urban centers can capture, through the textile story and different craft practices, various problems that generated the loss or forgetting of their cultural heritage. According to the designer, it was a moving experience to witness all the energies in motion as the women sewed their lives into a giant fabric, through patchwork, embroidery and stitches. "The stories and memories that were being brewed were creating new memories as the crafting process unfolded, and in doing so, new connections were being made, new processes were being learned, and new possibilities were being conceived in front of all of our minds. eyes"
Beautiful isn't it? Finally I imagine everything that can arise in these closer encounters between people and the implicit nature of artisanal practices. For example, sitting with other people, doing embroidery on a piece of textile... the whole atmosphere that is generated around this, the words that are said, the stories that are told, the memories or the marks left by the simple act of getting together and making a piece with different artisan techniques. In that continuous rhythm of the hands that unites textures, colors and materials, relationships are forged and a network is formed that weaves knowledge, desires and realities. Subjectively, something is communicated and this happens because we are simply relational beings and in a non-verbal or verbal way, in these fragments intangible situations and experiences are created in our eyes.
Sources
Revista Bibliográfica de geografía y ciencias sociales (Serie documental de Geo Crítica), Universidad de Barcelona , Disponible en: http://www.ub.edu/geocrit/b3w-599.htm
Artesania y diseño, Blog Foro Alfa, Disponible en:
https://foroalfa.org/articulos/artesania-y-diseno
Proyecto de caja de costura itinerante. Blog Fashion Heart. Disponible en:
http://fashionandheart.com/travelling-sewing-box-project/
Encontrar el propósito social de una marca, Revista Pym. Disponible en:
https://revistapym.com.co/comunicacion/como-encontrar-el-proposito-social-de-una-marca