Hello everyone! We are thrilled to announce a special edition in collaboration with Isabel Berz, Creative Director of the LAS MANUELAS Project, and Carolina Tulgara, Chief Executive Officer at ZIPHOUSE Fashion Hub.
This edition is unique because it aims to connect visual artists from our ShowUsYourType community with creative craftswomen from Moldova. Our goal is to produce a unique piece of textile art based on your design.This collaborative project is close to our hearts. It aims to give visibility to a community of vulnerable women who nurture a hand-woven craft, celebrate their skills, and highlight a sustainable green initiative.
The Design:
Create a poster featuring the word "Ilenele."
"Ileana" is a common name in Moldova and represents the vulnerable communities of craftswomen we aim to highlight. "Ilenele," the plural form, symbolizes the community. For this edition, we invite you to dive deep into your creative resources and explore themes of craftwork, Moldova, and women. We are truly excited to see how you interpret this brief.
Next Steps:
Once the edition closes, we will select 10 posters and reach out to the designers to collaborate with our platform, Co-Design. Together, we'll create a template that artisan women can use to weave a tapestry. While this might sound complex, it’s a straightforward and exciting process to transform your artwork into a tangible object.
From these 10 designs, a jury—composed of admired members from the art and fashion community—will select one design for the women to transform into a 1x1.5m textile artwork using innovative and sustainable yarns. The selected artist will be invited to attend the event and exhibition in Moldova, where we will showcase the final piece.
The remaining nine designs will be used to promote the initiative. They will be displayed in print at the final exhibition in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, and at the Milan fair, where they will also be featured in collaboration with the Worth 2024 project. This project is partially subsidized by Worth, a grant from the European Union.
Please refer to our website for transparency details and to accept the conditions. Although this is a prototype, our vision is to visit different communities around the world each year and continue this initiative if successful.
The Jury Team :
For this edition we will have a special jury consisting of: ShowUsYourType, Isabel Berz, Carolina Tulgara and Assad Awaad - Artist, artisan and mentor at Worth.
The Cover Design :
Big thanks to Andrea Cirdei for designing the cover art being inspired by Moldovan traditions. She represented a woman dressed in a colorful traditional garment, seated in front of a large wooden loom weaving carpets. Traditional colors and ornaments are interpreted in this image with a purpose to meet the tradition and the contemporary, reflecting the concept Ilenele project. Andrea Cirdei studied Fashion Design at the Technical University of Moldova in Chișinău and began her career in the fashion industry, creating her own brand, Andrée, with clothing pieces characterized by individuality, charisma, and boldness. In 2021, she joined the ZIPHOUSE Fashion Innovation Hub team as a graphic designer.
TO DO
Design a poster with the word: ILENELE
ONLINE VERSION
423 px x 529 px (vertical)
72 DPI save for web JPG (under 200k)
Name your JPG with your name.
( Save a version in your computer 1,5m high with 300 dpis)
DEADLINE
September the 6th, 2024.
Transparency:
As the central part of the ILENELE PROJECT, awarded the WORTH Prize, this special call is a non-profit initiative. All funding from the grant will be used to manage the project self-sufficiently. This includes organizing the open call, promoting participating artists, selecting the 10 finalists, and developing a user-friendly digital platform to facilitate collaboration between artisans and designers. We will guide designers and artisans on using the platform and connect them directly. The grant also covers weaving the tapestry, inviting the winning artist to Moldova for the promotional event, and exhibiting the final result at the Milan fair. Our aim is to be 100% transparent and make it easy for artists and women from rural regions to connect, empowering female green entrepreneurship in rural Moldova. The winning designer will be invited to travel to Moldova to meet the craftswomen and the ILENELE Team and participate in the final event in Chisinau in January 2025, where their piece will be shown alongside the printed patterns of all finalists.
All other finalists are welcome to attend the events and exhibitions in Chisinau and Milan, but they will be responsible for their own expenses. The ILENELE Project offers all finalists and the winner the opportunity to realize their designs into a textile mural at a special, reasonable rate.
By participating in the edition, you accept the conditions of sharing your design to collaborate with the craftswomen. In return, we will provide visibility, and your work will be used only with your consent and notification.
For more information, email us your questions at hello@showusyourtype.com.
Thank you very much for your interest in this new initiative.