The Unstable Design Lab is excited to host a call for entries for their second Experimental Weaving Residency. This funded residency will take place in winter/spring 2022 and is focused on developing experimental textile structures and concepts in close collaboration with engineers and scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder.
The Unstable Design Lab is hosting its experimental weaving residency with the goal of developing new techniques and open-source resources that can co-evolve fiber arts and engineering practice.
The chosen resident will work with the Unstable Design Lab, as well as researchers from the University of Colorado, to create a series of samples inspired by challenges currently faced by engineering researchers. For example, shape weaving techniques for creating form-fitting and/or compression garments for counter-pressure spacesuits, integration of power harvesting diodes, compostable or easily reusable textile structures for zero-waste manufacturing, or structures that dynamically fold and unfold to support mechanical structures or soft robotics (to name a few, but not all, possible spaces for experimentation).
Applicants should be open-minded, curious, and above all deeply knowledgeable about woven structures and their behaviours. No knowledge of computer science, electronics, or engineering is required for participation.Timeline
| Application Deadline | Sept 15, 2021 |
| Notification to Selected Applicant | November 1, 2021 |
| Residency Dates | 12 weeks between Jan 15-May 15 |
Resources
The resources available to the resident include a desk in the Unstable Design Lab, priority access to a TC2 digital jacquard loom (3W warped at 60 ends per inch), access to other weaving, spinning and knitting equipment in the lab, access to traditional and novel weaving materials, programming support for some custom software needs, access to the fabrication facilities at the ATLAS Institute, access to motion-capture and high-end audio equipment in the B2 Center for the Media Art and Performance, and an exhibition space to showcase work at the end of the residency (also at the B2). While we can provide instructions for getting started on the TC2, the artist is ultimately responsible for the design and production of their swatches—there is no technician devoted to realizing the work on the equipment.
Expectations
The resident will be expected to work at least 30 hours per week with the lab members and collaborators evolving concepts that address the artists interests as well as the engineering teams’ needs.
The selected resident must be willing to share any techniques they develop as open-source resources to both the collaborators and public more broadly, including producing necessary documentation for others to replicate such their techniques.
To facilitate the exploration of projects of mutual interest, the organizers will schedule meetings with various researchers during the first week of the residency to better understand their needs and challenges when it comes to integrating textile structures into their research. The resident, then, will be able to select the challenges that most interest them to further explore, sharing their findings with the research teams as they develop.
For full information including stipend etc click on this link
With many thanks to The Unstable Design Lab for the text and images
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