Phieu collection is accompanied by a series of photos, hand illustrations, music, video, and installations to present a story of traditional craft. (Photo courtesy of British Council)Hanoi (VNA) - A multi-media exhibition exploring the relationshipbetween traditional crafts and contemporary design will open to the public onApril 13 in Hanoi.
Hanoi-based fashion brand Kilomet 109’scollection is called Phieu, which loosely translates to"Unburdened Journey".
The exhibition is organised as part of theBritish Council’s "New for Old" initiative, a research residencythat took place across Southeast Asia in December 2016, bringing togetheracademics, artisans and contemporary creative practitioners to “find ways oflooking backwards while moving forwards.”
The idea behind the Phieu collectionis to “extract the essence of tried and tested knowledge and update it to fitcontemporary design aesthetics and production”. For Kilomet 109 and its founderand principal designer Thao Vu, this has resulted in clothes that have woveninto their fabric a continuation of traditional dyeing, weaving, andcalendering techniques from four ethnic minority groups in northern Vietnam whoThao has been working with for the last year.
Thảo works closely with the artisans to bothlearn from and teach them in return.
“I don’t know how long I will work with theartisans, and I need to make sure that it is sustainable, that they value theirown culture, and that they feel confident in making new designs if one day Ileave,” she said.
Along with British Council researchers, Thao satdown with local artisans to learn about their everyday practice, how craftshapes their lives, families, and the communities around them, and what theyare hoping to gain from spending hours every day crafting the fabrics.
The New for Old research team documented thework of eight artisans in the mountainous regions of Hoa Binh and Lao Cai andthe various aspects of fabric production.
The exhibition is complemented with work fromother creative disciplines: black and white photography by Nic Shonfeld,illustrations and prints of the natural materials and tools used in the processby Claire Driscoll, a short documentary film made from field footage puttogether by Pham Mai Phuong and a commissioned piece of music composed by NguyenXuan Son.
Phieu will open from April 13 until May 3 atthe Hanoi Old Quarter Culture Exchange Centre, 50 Dao Duy Tu Street.The free entrance exhibition opens daily, from 10am to 7pm.-VNA
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