“The Fibers and Textiles Co-Creation Project dove into this question with an experiment in co-creation that facilitated dialogue and skill-sharing between emerging artists, the Montreal textile and garment industry, and academic research – and explored the dynamics of co-creation itself. Produced and coordinated by Montreal artist-run center Eastern Bloc, with funding from the City of Montreal, the project centered collaboration between the Milieux Institute’s Textiles and Materiality Research Cluster (Concordia University), the apparel research and innovation center Vestechpro (Cégep Marie-Victorin), HEC Montreal’s Mosaic Creativity and Innovation Hub, and emerging Montreal artists Jacqueline Beaumont and Ryth Kesselring. The artists were invited to work on new projects with technicians and equipment at Vestechpro, Eastern Bloc and the Textiles and Materiality Research Cluster, while also meeting regularly with their collaborators. In a series of interviews, meetings and discussions, the artist, industry and academic participants unpacked the processes, challenges and potential of co-creation throughout the project. The final outcomes included not only artist talks and a public presentation of the conceptual wearables produced during the two month period, but also a short documentary and series of texts that document the project and draw out the exciting potential of co-creation as a method of collaborative thinking, learning and making.”
Molly-Claire Gillett, “What happens when artists, academics, and industry experts collaborate?”
Watch Documentary here, @Eastern Bloc 2022.
textiles + materiality research cluster 