The Making Of:
Healing Textiles with Rosie Broadhead

The new event series "The Making Of," organized by the Lise Meitner Group "Coded Objects" asks our guests to invite us behind the scenes of their process of making: of art works, of texts, of films, or of objects. How did they come into being? What were the constraints, limitations or adversities and, conversely, the opportunities and decisions that shaped both the process and the (potential) outcome? Rather than an artist’s talk or a scholarly lecture, this series seeks to discuss the processes of making first hand.

A second component of the series is the actual making of things. The dictum of the material, the humbling of lack of skills, the discovery of form-finding: these are all modes of knowledge that reside in the shaping of matter. Learning from artisans, artists, engineers, cooks or seamstresses, we will try to feel our way into other forms of knowing.

In the first session, textile artist Rosie Broadhead will present her design practice and methodology on skin and materials interactions, and clothes that can heal. Her talk (11:00 am) will be followed by an interactive workshop on natural dyes, and therapeutic materials. In this workshop, we will explore the ecology of bacteria invisibly living on the textile's surfaces.

The participants will be working In two groups (2:00 pm/ 4:20 pm), taking used garments (preferably their own) and engage in the process of ‘dyeing,’ collectively looking at the systems behind production in textile and fashion. Natural dyeing is the practice of utilizing colour from plants and minerals to permanently change the color of your garments using improvised and existing techniques. Participants will learn how to naturally dye their own garments with plants and known prebiotics for the skin—an approach that considers caring for one’s clothing, one’s microbiome, and one’s skin through what one is wearing.

11:00–12:00 am – Talk, Via Gustavo Modena 13, M20

2:00–3:30 pm – Workshop Group #1, Via Giuseppe Giusti 38, Sala Conferenze
4:30–6:00pm pm – Workshop Group #2, Via Giuseppe Giusti 38, Sala Conferenze

Please register for the workshop before January 9 via olivia.larsen@khi.fi.it and indicate your preferred time/ workshop group. Available spots will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis. Remember to bring your own garment that you would like to personalize during the workshop. To attend the talk, no registration is necessary, and attendance for the talk and workshop is independent.