21.04.2023 – 18.06.2023

Textile industry & Artists in Residence

Logo Textile industry & Artists in Residence
Logo Textile industry & Artists in Residence
Photos: Milad Ahmadvand
The textile industry has undergone major changes in recent decades: fast-changing fashion trends, new material developments and manufacturing processes, innovations in production technology and functionality, globalisation with its shift of the textile market to low-wage countries as well as rising sustainability and labelling issues represent just a few of the enormous challenges. For Swiss textile companies, which can build on an extremely successful tradition, especially in Eastern Switzerland, one of the most important tasks today is to meet these challenges while holding their own in the face of global competition. This is why new and unusual approaches are of great importance, in engineering and technology as well as in design.

With the exhibition “Textile Industry & Artists in Residence”, Gewerbemuseum Winterthur provides insights into the programme of TaDA – Textile and Design Alliance. International designers and artists have, in this programme, developed innovative projects, experiments and research approaches in collaboration with textile companies in Eastern Switzerland, thereby demonstrating the potential that lies in close cooperation between design, culture, technology and economy.

TaDA – Textile and Design Alliance

Photo: Ladina Bischof

The culture departments in the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Thurgau and St.Gallen launched the cultural promotion programme TaDA – Textile and Design Alliance in 2019. It enables high-profile personalities from artistic and other disciplines to engage with the textile industry in Eastern Switzerland, which is both rich in tradition and innovative. Each year, up to six residents from Switzerland and abroad work for three months with textile companies in Eastern Switzerland and build networks in various contexts.

Participation in the TaDA Residency is advertised internationally every year. Since 2019, over 850 applications from 86 countries have been received and assessed by a jury. The 18 participants selected so far – designers, artists, architects – are given unique freedom to experiment. In close cooperation with any of 13 partners – textile companies and research institutions – they explore special issues and make use of the on-site knowledge and production possibilities.

AKIRASH Akindiya, Olaniyi R. – *1973 / Nigeria, lives and works in Texas / US and Lagos/ NG
Baechler, Stéphanie – *1983 / Switzerland, lives and works in Amsterdam / NL
Deschl, Laura – *1993 / Germany, lives and works in Berlin / DE
Goldstein, Ganit – *1992 / Israel, lives and works in Cambridge / US
Hopf, Alexandra – *1968 / Germany, lives and works in Berlin / DE
Kaspar, Tobias – *1984 / Switzerland, lives and works in Zurich / CH and Riga / LV
Kim, Aesun – *1991 / South Korea, lives and works in Seoul
Li, Sonia – *1983 / Taiwan, lives and works in New York City / US and Istanbul / TR
Manganiello, Victoria – *1989 / USA, lives and works in New York City / US
Meergans, Maidje – *1991 / Germany, lives and works in Berlin / DE
Mengistu Navet, Benjamin – *1994 / France, lives and works in Brussels / BE
Nguyen, Quang Vinh – *1995 / Switzerland, lives and works in Lausanne / CH
Winkler, Andrea – *1975 / Switzerland, lives and works in Berlin / DE

Follow us on social media
 

Reports on our current activities, past workshops etc. are regularly posted on social media. Follow us on 
 

Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Vimeo  |  YouTube

Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest information on our current exhibitions and events. The newsletter is published in German.