TEXTILE CARTOGRAPHIES:
Project Overview
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Textile Cartographies is a mouvement started from a participatory action research project using textile arts as story telling, coordinated by APECV Research Group on Arts, Community and Education (GriArCE) in 2022. Currently the network has 35 groups involving participants from 22 countries from universities, schools, collectives and associations in Americas; Africa; Asia; Australia and Europe. Each group has one or more coordinators and develop actions with participants. The actions are designed with the participants to reflect about environment; climate justice; social justice and other sustainability issues through exploring visual discourses using arts and textile technologies. Groups who already participated are located in Australia; South Africa: Namibia; Egypt; India, Iran; Israel; Kyrgyzstan; Indonesia; Italy: Norway; The Netherlands; Portugal; Spain; Latvia; China; Japan; Brazil; Mexico; Colombia; USA and Canada.
By April 2025, we estimated that about 6000 people were engaged in TC actions organized by the local coordinators in museums; schools; universities; cultural sites; social/health care and non-profit organisations. See Here the Groups |
DETAILS |
Title: "Textile Cartographies. A Participatory Arts, Craft and Design Project" Organisation: APECV - Portuguese Teachers of Visual Expression and Communication. Period: 01/01/2022 to 31/12/2026 International Coordination: Research Group of the Association of Teachers of Expression and Visual Communication (GRIARCE|APECV) Concept: GRIARCE Collective C3. Responsible: Teresa Torres de Eça & Angela Saldanha Participating institutions: Washington State University (USA), University of Minnesota Duluth (USA), Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Brazil), University of Jaén (Spain), University of Almería (Spain), Nowhere Arts Association (Australia), HEXLappies Association (South Africa), Helwan University (Egypt), University of Brasília (Brazil), University of the Basque Country (Spain), University of Valencia (Spain), The University of British Columbia (Canada), Ladies Arts Link Action - LAL Association (Namibia), University of Guadalajara (Mexico), University of Granada (Spain), Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (China), Kyushu University (Japan), Chhattisgarh, Central University (India), Missouri State University (USA), Bar Ilan University (Israel), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil), ABESA & Atrosela Association (Portugal), and APECV (Portugal), Women Artists and Art Critics (Kyrgyzstan). timetable2021: generation of ideas, establishing a network 2022: establishing a network, Creation of the pedagogical kit by C3; 7 exhibitions, one walking seminar in Portugal. 2023: enlarging the network, 8 exhibitions; one walking seminar in Mexico: one Publication ( TC catalogue 2 years of the project , Street actions; presentations in conferences and congresses. 2024: Mid-evaluation. enlarging the network, 8 exhibitions; one walking seminar in Cyprus, one Publication ( TC catalogue 3 years of the project, presentations in congresses and cultural events. 2025: Intermediate Evaluation. Exhibitions; seminar in India; art residency in South Tyrol, walking Seminar in Amazonia, one Publication. Presentations in art events, conferences and congresses. 2026: Evaluation. The project becomes a Mouvement! Presentations in art events, conferences and congresses.
In April 2025, TC has a network of 60 local coordinators. They are art teachers in schools; professors in universities; social workers, cultural workers, educators, artists and environmental activists. Through them project partners include NGOs, professional associations; collectives; universities, cultural centres and museums. The great majority of the groups are from Universities (in total 18) specially with teachers and students from graduate and post graduation courses in art education, but also with students from art & design; social and health studies. Local coordinators organize the activities and establish local networks to carry them out in their region. Some Local coordinators also created protocols and articulations with sectors such as hospitals; day care centres for elder or disable clients, prisons; leisure/craft associations. Local museums, art festivals, public libraries, and cultural centres have been involved as secondary partners, by providing exhibiting spaces and places to organize workshops for a broader public. Normally the involvement of participants is established by the local coordinators, creating articulations between their organizations (universities, associations, NGOs) and community organizations (e.g. schools, community centres, associations, etc). The project participants are spread out through different age ranks, as follows:
The great majority of participants, are students, coming from public educational institutions. But some groups are more interested in engaging displaced people, others, work more with elder persons from rural and urban areas. In terms of social and economical backgrounds, the range is very wide. Coordinators have observed that interest in textile arts and narratives using textile arts motivates all kinds of people, independent of their gender, social, economical, age or geographical contexts. |
Process |
The project idea was developed with invitations to researchers and online meetings to define lines of research and action. It was decided to use participatory action research methods. The implementation of the project started in January 2021 and is coordinated by the international and local coordinators who invite participants to join the project. Following participatory and arts based dimensions, the coordinators and participants explore collaborative process through textile arts as means of communication and activist expression to express ideas and feelings about environmental issues. |
Activities |
The process is planned locally and through international online meeting with coordinators and participants. Ethical guidelines and Plans for Actions are designed collaboratively.
During 2021 the coordinators shared their visions about cartography and examples of activist textile artists . KIT In 2022 the researchers from Santiago de Compostela Maria Jesus Agra and Cristina Trigo selected artists of reference for the project and created a pedagogical kit as a resource for the group Actions : Local Actions Local coordinators promoted actions such as workshops; street actions; conferences, etc. with groups of people interested in creating a narrative that expresses ideas and opinions about human action on planet Earth in individual textile squares 10x10 cm . GIFTS- Exhibitions Each Group sent textile works as gifts to other groups for the setting of collective exhibitions, see here the list of international exhibitions. Read More. Gatherings Local coordinators may meet during video conferences, international exhibitions, walking seminars and residencies, Read More. . The creators of textile cartographies observe their places, inquire about their history, and search for signs, meanings, and alternatives. Participants of the project represent their stories using fabrics, threads, ropes, wool, and more. They express ideas, draw attention to and talk about eARTh, rendering life stories in the process, with dreams, despairs and desires. Teresa Torres de Eça (2023) Textile Cartographies: Two Years of a Project. APECV Publications. |
Dissemination |
The project was presented in congresses, seminars and conferences.
Two catalogues about the main project were published. See here the Presentations and publications about the Project. |
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