NeoNew: Transforming Fashion Waste with Studio Nito

To continue our material experiments inspired by the exhibition Chris Schanck: Off-World, Berlin-based designers Studio Nito will lead a three-day workshop on transforming fashion waste into sustainable materials for works of art and design. Participants will learn to fabricate objects using discarded clothes while exploring the properties of resin and natural fibers. The designers will emphasize their newest techniques for using nontoxic and biodegradable plastics in the process.

Attendees can purchase tickets to either the intro workshop only (no previous design skills are necessary) or the full three-day program (which requires basic design skills and knowledge). Those who sign up for the latter will have the chance to work alongside Studio Nito in the creation of a personal design project and receive feedback and support to fully materialize their creative vision.

Questions? Please email education@madmuseum.org.

SCHEDULE

Intro Workshop

Saturday, August 13

2–4:30 pm
$25 general
$20 Members and students

Studio Nito will discuss their studio practice and processes, joined by Alissa Westervelt of donateNYC, a division of New York City’s Department of Sanitation. Westervelt will discuss the alarming amount of fashion waste generated by New Yorkers every year and invite the audience to rethink their consumption patterns. The conversation will be followed by a hands-on research session to create diverse material samples using clothes, biodegradable plastics, and resins.

2–2:30 pm – Conversation
2:30–2:45 pm – Break
2:45–4:30 pm – Practical material research with tryouts and samples

Intensive Workshop

Sunday, August 14 and Saturday, August 20

2–4 pm
$50 (includes intro workshop) general
$40 (includes intro workshop) Members and students

Those eager to expand their creative practice will have the opportunity to apply the hands-on knowledge and techniques learned into their own design work. During this intensive workshop, participants will create a personal project, which they will fabricate from start to finish, receiving mentorship and guidance from Studio Nito.

Participants who plan to attend the intensive class need to attend all three days of the workshop.

Sunday, August 14

2–2:45 pm – Ideation session to incorporate the materials into design objects
2:45–3 pm – Break
3–4 pm – Making molds and fabricating objects

Saturday, August 20

2–2:45 pm – Demolding the objects
2:45–3 pm – Break
3–4 pm – Finalizing works and discussing results

This event is part of Infraordinary, a series of hands-on workshops exploring the potential of everyday, industrially produced items discarded in New York City. In collaboration with community organizations and local businesses, artists and designers source overlooked materials, and teach participants to turn them into unique and imperfect objects that create meaning by walking the line between mass-produced and handmade. Infraordinary is presented on the occasion of Chris Schanck: Off-World and is guest curated by Gabriela López Dena.

The clothes for this workshop were sourced through donateNYC and Soucy.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Studio Nito is a Berlin-based design office founded in 2015 by textile designer Nil Atalay and industrial designer Tobias Juretzek. With an experimental mindset, they seek innovation and create products with a clear but playful language. The studio is a laboratory investigating current and future forces influencing the design discipline. By challenging the status quo and embracing sustainable and social matters, Atalay and Juretzek develop new topologies and aesthetics. Their design practice has received international recognition and is regularly showcased in numerous museums, exhibitions and fairs. http://studionito.com

donateNYC was established by the NYC Department of Sanitation in 2016 to reduce needless waste and increase diversion of reusable material from landfills. donateNYC provides vital support for New York City’s reuse community, helping nonprofit organizations and local reuse businesses increase and promote their reuse efforts.

Image: Studio Nito Rememberme Chair for Horm/Casamania, created using discarded clothing and resin