FUSION is an international partnership project, funded by Creative Europe, that will offer designers/makers training in digital fabrication skills and co-designing methodologies towards the development of bespoke products, across fashion, textiles and wearables for active ageing citizens. Active ageing aims to extend healthy life expectancy and quality of life for all people as they age.
Through a series of masterclasses, a short residency programme, networking events, a seminar, exhibition, thematic research mapping and the development of a business toolkit, the project aims to:
Increase access to digital fabrication technologies for fashion and textile designers and makers
Enrich professional capacities in digital fabrication and co-designing with active ageing citizens
Open new business opportunities for the design and craft sector
Develop new business models for creative enterprises interested in cross-sector innovation within fashion and textiles
This is a unique opportunity for designers/makers with ambition to learn new skills, combining digital fabrication technologies with traditional skills in textiles and fashion and to expand their professional capacities in user testing and co-designing with users.
More about the project
The project will run from April 2020 to April 2021. It is a paid project for professional designers/makers and requires international travel.
FUSION is delivered by four international partners: – Limerick School of Art & Design (Ireland), Crafts Council (UK), Polytechnic Institute of Cavado do Ave (Portugal) and Fondazione Santagata per L’Economia della Cultura (Italy) with the support of expert partners: DESIGN FACTORS (Ireland), Sligo IT (Ireland), Fab Lab Barcelona (Spain) and the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland.
Initially, each partner country will select two designers/makers who will be required to attend 4 masterclasses (April 2020 – May 2020). Each masterclass will last two days in four partner countries:
Masterclass 1 led by Limerick School of Art & Design and DESIGN FACTORS, University of Limerick will focus on co-design, collaboration and active ageing skills (1-2 April, Limerick, Ireland)
Masterclass 2 led by Fab Lab Barcelona will focus on the practical application of digital fabrication technologies (30 April – 1 May, Barcelona, Spain)
Masterclass 3 led by the Polytechnic Institute of Cavado do Ave will focus on product design and development (7-8 May, Barcelos, Portugal)
Masterclass 4 led by the Crafts Council (UK) will focus on business skills and enterprise development (18-19 May, London, UK)
Please note the masterclass schedule is indicative and the exact dates will be confirmed in the new year.
Following attendance to masterclasses and submission of successful proposal, one participant from each partner country will be given the opportunity to;
Attend 1 two-week residency in a partner country between 5 October 2020 – 5 December 2020 (exact dates tbc) in a facility with access to digital fabrication tools in either Limerick, Ireland (Limerick School of Art & Design), Barcelos, Portugal (Polytechnic Institute of Cavado do Ave), Turin, Italy (host venue tbc) and the UK (host venue tbc).
Deliver a public-facing workshop for other designers/makers as part of their residency
All participants will be paid €1200 each (€100/day) to attend the masterclasses (4 masterclasses in total) and the selected artist in residence €2300 (€230/day) for the two-week residency (10 days). Travel, accommodation, materials, technical support, mentoring and access to specialist facilities will also be provided by FUSION.
Criteria
We are looking for applications from professional designers / makers with;
A minimum 3 years of professional experience in the fashion or textile fields and practical skills in any of the associated disciplines (textiles, fashion design, weaving, embroidery, knitting, accessories, leather, paper, printing) or similar
Demonstrable interest in digital fabrication technologies – experience in digital fabrication is not necessary, but a curious attitude and ambition to experiment and innovate using new technologies is essential.
Availability to travel on the proposed dates for the masterclasses and two continuous weeks between 5 October – 5 December 2020.
Additionally, successful candidates will be expected to:
Work collaboratively, be open in their approach, generous in exchanging information with peers and the project partners, Present their work clearly and support the partners to communicate the project activities beyond specialist sectors, online and on social media, Act as advocates for the project, the partner organisations and the role of craft, new technologies and innovation in improving active ageing.
Commitments
Selected participants will be expected to:
Attend and participate in all 4 master classes
Prepare application and compete to gain place in residency
Residency Participants must create a body of work that can be exhibited publicly
Eligibility
Applicants must be Italy based and legally entitled to work and travel in the Italy and the other participating European countries for the full period of the programme (April 2020 to April 2021).
Guaranteed Interview Scheme
The FUSION partners are committed to promoting and celebrating diversity. We particularly encourage applications from currently under-represented groups in contemporary craft and design.
If you wish to apply under the scheme, please indicate this in the body of the email when you send us your application.
Selection
To participate in the selection send the following documents to ricerca@fondazionesantagata.it with the subject “FUSION application” by midnight (GMT) on 22 January 2020.
CV in PDF format (max 2 A4 pages).
Letter of motivation that describes the most relevant work and training experiences and their interests and motivations with respect to the project, with particular reference to how participation in the project can contribute to your professional development (500 words).
Portfolio – PDF with up to 4 recent projects with high resolution images, description and possible links.
Complete the information request form
Applications will be reviewed anonymously for our shortlisting process. We do this to ensure a fair selection process. Selectors are only able to see CV, Cover Letter and Portfolio.
Selection panel: Paola Borrione (Head of Research, Fondazione Santagata), Francesca Gambetta (program manager, Compagnia di San Paolo), Sara Fortunati (Director, Circolo del Design) e Sara Cavagnero (Fondazione Santagata)
Data
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