Project and Exhibition Review: I AM NOT ALONE—Embroidering Self-Portraits of Vulnerable Immigrant Women

Abstract

This article is a review of the Active relationships II project and the exhibition I am not alone, supported by the International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC) from Slovenia. The exhibition event was the culmination of a three-year project focusing on the well-being and integration of migrant women. Oloop Design was using textile art and design as a means of personal and collective empowerment in the project. It has discovered the value of making embroidered self-portraits as a meditative, self-explorative, recovering and reflective activity. The exhibition I Am Not Alone featured 36 embroidered portraits and demonstrated the positive impact of textile design on the well-being and quality of life of the immigrant women.

Keywords:

• Textile design
• well-being
• immigrant women
• embroidery
• self-portrait

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jasmina Ferček

Jasmina Ferček holds a Master of Arts in Textile Design and a Master of Art Therapy. She lives and works in Ljubljana. She researches the impact of textile arts and crafts on women’s wellbeing. Jasmina is part of Oloop Design, a collective founded in 2003 by three textile designers and artists (Tjaša Bavcon, Katja Burger and Jasmina Ferček). The Oloop collective works in various fields of visual art and design—product design, spatial design, textile art, participatory art, etc. In 2011, Jasmina started combining design with social activities. Contemporary textile art and design has become a medium for connection, communication and empowerment of individuals and communities. The Oloop collective raises awareness about the importance of creating with textiles and its impact on the well-being of individuals and society, and co-creates mainly with immigrant women. [email protected]

http://www.oloopdesign.com/en/