PROTEXT! @ CENTRO PECCI
ABOUT “PROTEXT!”
ABOUT A WORKER was invited to take part of “Protext! When fabric becomes a manifesto” an exhibition happening at Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato curated by Camilla Mozzato and Marta Papini . The aim of the exhibition is to explore fabric's role in our current context. Protext! gives voice to an artistic practice that uses fabric as an instrument capable of channelling and expressing instances of protest, identity and belonging.
The exhibition concludes with a workshop room where we had the chance to install our creative factory and collaborate with Art & Fashion students from Istituto Marangoni Firenze. For two weeks, the students took part in a visual and experimental creative exploration of Manteco. We tell you more below!
ABOUT OUR COLLABORATION WITH ISTITUTO MARANGONI FIRENZE
Istituto Marangoni is a fashion and art school situated in the heart of Florence: the traditional epicentre of italian craftmanship. Over these last year, Istituto Marangoni Firenze has been working on exploring new cross-pollination methods in the fields of crafts, textiles digital arts and new technologies. We are happy to have had the chance to organise a group project mixing 11 students together from the art and fashion departments.
Our aim was to give the participant the possibility to envision and reflect collection on Prato’s industrial world and train them to use crafts and design as story telling tools. To make this project happen we were lucky to partner with Manteco, a family owned innovative wool factory situated in Prato !
ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH MANTECO
In 1941 Enzo Anacleto Mantellassi, founder of Manteco refurbished a spinning mill destroyed by the war and started producing sustainable yarns by regenerating old military garments and covers. Since then, Manteco has kept this recycling tradition and has become one of the leading textile company for sustainable fabric. To make our collaboration happen, Manteco has opened their factory doors, while offering their soft and beautiful fabric stocks for creation and the installation steps.
Collaborating with Manteco was a way to discover a new functional alternative, while understanding the roots and evolution of a local Family owned business in the diverse industrial city of Prato.
THE INITIATION
STEP 1) DISCOVERING MANTECO
Our introduction was to first start with a research day. On the first days we went on a factory tour given by Manteco’s team. Students had the chance to go through Manteco’s massive production chain and archive. They were asked to take textural & structural pictures of the environment while interviewing the workers.
STEP 2) VISUALISING MANTECO
On the second day, students installed inside our Creative Factory at Centro Pecci. Each of them were asked to gather their picture and create a moodboard. But not any kind of moodboard! The aim was to tell a coherent story through image combinations. They were asked to reflect on their vision of Manteco and Prato’s textile industry.
STEP 3) ILLUSTRATING PRATO’S PATTERNS THROUGH PAPERS
By observing pictures in details and their visual and sensorial significances, the participants were asked to express their views through collages and paper textures.
STEP 4) ILLUSTRATING PRATO’S PATTERNS THROUGH TEXTURES
The participants were then given Manteco’s wool fabric leftovers to re-interpret their collages into texture. The wool was another medium of experimentation to play with in order to express their personal reflection through design.
STEP 5) CO-CREATING A 4 METER STORY
The participants were then put into two groups . The aim of the exercise was to find out a conceptual common ground while having to create a monumental piece together with leftover.
GROUP A) Worked on the three colour moods found at Manteco
GROUP B) Worked on Manteco’s production Chain going from messy to organised
STEP 6) CO-CREATING OUR WORKER JACKET
For the opening day, we asked the participants to get inspired by parts of their 4 meter story to create jacket with ABOUT A WORKERS worker jacket pattern. They did not finish them on time, but it was an experiment to become a worker for one day, while using their creativity.
Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci - Viale della Repubblica, 277, 59100 Prato PO, Italia