KYOTO

EXHIBITION
Event is Over

Hacking the Known : Exhibition

Materials Hack event to explore and exploit the special qualities of Tango chirimen

Date

2021/06/24 (THU)

2021/07/02 (FRI)

Time

11:00–19:00 *JST

Venue

FabCafe / MTRL KYOTOMAP

Fee

Free

ABOUT

In this exhibition, we will present the experiments and prototypes from the “Hacking the Known” workshop, which has been attempting to visualize the new possibilities of the material by “hacking” the silk and polyester textile “Tango Chirimen”, which has been uniquely developed in the Tango region of Kyoto.

◎ For more information about the “Hacking the Known” workshop, please see below. (*Registration for the workshop has already closed.)

This program is a full online workshop to be held as an official program of DESIGN WEEK TANGO 2021 in June 2021. This is a course aimed at professionals of different disciplines. The aim is to explore the possibilities of new materials using Tango chirimen, a representative technology of the Tango area in Kyoto Prefecture, which is home to not only textiles but also metalworking, woodworking, and other companies with advanced manufacturing technologies.

We welcome the following participants:

  • Creative hackers
  • Designers with an interest in unique functional materials and textiles
  • Engineers who want to see special processing techniques that are no longer commonplace due to the modernization of manufacturing processes from the perspective of new technologies
  • Designers who want to bring new experiences to the surfaces and interfaces of products and devices from a material perspective
  • Manufacturers who are looking for collaborators to develop fibres and textiles with new functions and textures
  • Scientists and designers who are interested in hacking biomaterials

At DESIGN WEEK TANGO 2021, you will be able to meet manufacturers of various materials and products besidesTango chirimen.  For more details, please visit the official website.

ABOUT

Tango, located at the northern tip of Kyoto Prefecture, is an area rich in nature, surrounded by the sea and mountains. It is one of the leading silk production areas in Asia. 70% of Japan’s kimono are made from fabrics produced in Tango. In addition to textiles, Tango has a long history of world-class “monozukuri,” or manufacturing, in the fields of machinery and metals as well as in agriculture. Over the centuries, profound experience, knowledge and skills have been passed on to the present generation.

In 2021, DESIGN WEEK TANGO will be held for the first time with the concept of “Tango’s manufacturing for the next 100 years.” DESIGN WEEK TANGO will offer a number of opportunities: for a wide variety of people to meet and interact through a range of events, such as “OPEN HOUSE,” which will open up various manufacturing sites, to generate new ideas and inspiration for the future of Tango. DESIGN WEEK TANGO aims to give rise to a multitude of new concepts and inventiveness that will lay the foundation for the future of Tango.

Hacking the Known will be held as an official program of DESIGN WEEK TANGO 2021. This event aims to visualize new possibilities of Tango chirimen as a material by “hacking” silk or polyester Tango chirimen, which has developed uniquely in the Tango region, in various ways.

This event consists of an “Intensive Seminar”, “Workshop” and “Exhibition/Presentation”, all of which will be held online. Successful applicants will be sent a length of Tango chirimen as a material KIT to hack. After a briefing on the properties and characteristics of Tango chirimen as a material, and approaches to experimental hacking, participants will work on the “hack” during a two-week period which includes a mid-project crit from experts. The completed work will be exhibited at FabCafe Kyoto during DESIGN WEEK TANGO 2021, and participants will be allowed to present their work in an online event held during the exhibition.

Tango Chirimen as an Intelligent Textile

Tango chirimen has a history of 300 years, and its traditional materials and techniques have great potential as an “intelligent textile”. In recent years, attempts have been made to explore the new possibilities of Tango chirimen by combining it with materials and techniques from different fields.

KYOTO Design Lab at the Kyoto Institute of Technology and the Royal College of Art (RCA) collaborated to create a hybrid fiber for healthcare use. This exploited chirimen’s fundamental weave principles and process and combined silk and sustainable bioplastics, demonstrating the potential of such new materials for the booming healthcare market in Japan. See the video of the project here.

KYOTO Design Lab organised a Textiles Summer School that was held annually from 2017 to 2020. Designers from all over the world, including students from the RCA, University of the Arts, London in the UK and the Design Academy Eindhoven and ArtEz in the Netherlands, gathered in Kyoto and creatively combined the traditional techniques of Tango chirimen with new technologies through field research and workshops.

In 2020, the 300th anniversary of Tango Chirimen, the exhibition “Alternative Futures ‒ contemporary design responses to the 300-year-old KyoTango chirimen tradition” was organised. Fifteen artists and designers from eight countries, many of them alumni for the Textiles Summer School, were asked to respond to chirimen as material from the perspective of contemporary design. See the video of the project here.

In this workshop, Julia Cassim, who conceived and implemented these programs, will be invited as a guest lecturer to explore the new possibilities of Tango chirimen with the participants.

Tango Chirimen from a Global Perspective

A series of three online events about Tango chirimen will be held at JAPAN HOUSE LONDON from May to June 2021. This is a good opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Tango chirimen, so please make sure to watch it, especially if you wish to participate in the workshop.

May 14, 2021
20:00-21:00 JST
Tango Chirimen: Factory Visit & Conversation Detail
May 20, 2021
20:00-21:00 JST
KYOTO Design Lab Series: Exploring Tango Chirimen – Structure Detail
May 26, 2021
20:00-21:00 JST
KYOTO Design Lab Series II: Exploring Tango Chirimen – Surface Detail
June 10, 2021
20:00-21:00 JST
KYOTO Design Lab Series III: Exploring Tango Chirimen – Scenario Detail

*Advance reservations are required to watch events in real time.
*”KYOTO Design Lab Series” will be held three times in total. The information will be updated here.
*After the event, videos will be available on JAPAN HOUSE LONDON’s YouTube channel.

SCHEDULE

May 23, 2021 Application deadline
May 24, 2021 Portfolio review *Successful applicants will be informed individually by e-mail.
May 28, 2021
19:00 – 21:00
Briefing and intensive seminar
June 7, 2021
19:00 – 21:00
Mid-project crit
June 21, 2021 Submission deadline
June 23, 2021
19:00 – 21:00
Presentation
June 24, 2021
– June 27, 2021
Exhibition at FabCafe Kyoto

PROGRAM

Design Brief

As a material, chirimen can be divided into two major categories: Unscoured chirimen and scoured polyester or silk chirimen, which has undergone a degumming process to remove the sericin that secures the yarn twist in order for it to be woven into fabric. With the removal of the sericin, the highly twisted yarn partially untwists and the silk fabric shrinks by up to 30% resulting in the subtle wrinkled crepe surface of the chirimen used for kimono that we know.

For this workshop, we will use unscoured chirimen which is quite different in texture to processed chirimen ‒ still covered in sericin, it rough to the touch and as stiff as the canvas used for paintings. It also makes it ideal as a material for experimentation of different kinds. Participants in the workshop will be given a 2-metre length of unscoured chirimen and asked to hack it in the broadest sense of the word. This can be done in different ways such as:

(1) Structure
Transforming the fabric from a 2D to a 3D material/concept in combination with other fabrication techniques

(2) Surface
Changing its appearance by applying printing techniques, laser cutting or use of mixed media techniques

(3) Scenario
Treating the fabric using coatings, embedding technology, or other means to expand its potential use in diverse contexts

Participants will also be asked to visualise applications for the hacked material that has the potential to be developed into new sustainable products.

Workshop Structure

Successful applicants for the workshop will be sent a length of up to 2 metres of unscoured KyoTango chirimen before the workshop. The workshop will be preceded by an online lecture on the nature and properties of Tango chirimen and experimental hacking approaches.

Participants will be asked to document their development and complete their work in time for the scheduled workshop and to document the process in the form of a short video in a predetermined format. Both will be shown at the exhibition and presentation.

May 28, 2021
19:00 – 21:00
Briefing
Intensive seminar
The workshop will be preceded by an online lecture on the nature and properties of Tango Chirimen and experimental hacking approaches.
June 7, 2021
19:00 – 21:00
Mid-project crit Participants will receive feedback from other peers and guest lecturers to develop their works.
June 21, 2021 Submission deadline Participants will be asked to send their work to FabCafe Kyoto by the submission deadline.
June 23, 2021
19:00 – 21:00
Presentation An online event will be held where participants can present their works and discuss them with our guest lecturers.
June 24, 2021
– June 27, 2021
Exhibition Submitted works will be exhibited at FabCafe Kyoto.

We welcome the following participants:

  • Creative hackers
  • Designers with an interest in unique functional materials and textiles
  • Engineers who want to see special processing techniques that are no longer commonplace due to the modernization of manufacturing processes from the perspective of new technologies
  • Designers who want to bring new experiences to the surfaces and interfaces of products and devices from a material perspective
  • Manufacturers who are looking for collaborators to develop fibres and textiles with new functions and textures
  • Scientists and designers who are interested in hacking biomaterials

Application Conditions

  • Residents of Japan
  • Your portfolio or website that shows your achievements
  • Your reason for taking part(300 characters max)
  • Your potential creative approach to Tango chirimen(300 characters max)
  • Watch the online talk events about Tango chirimen at JAPAN HOUSE LONDON in advance (May 20, 26 and June 10, 2021 and then on YouTube)

*We are limiting the participation to those in Japan due to the convenience of mailing the materials. If you would like to participate from outside Japan, please indicate so in the “Your reason for taking part” section. We will consider whether or not to be able to send materials to your address and will reply to you as soon as possible.

Application

Application Deadline:May 21, 2021

Capacity:10
Fee:¥10,000[tax included]

*Materials and KIT one-way shipping costs included
*After portfolio review, successful applicants will be contacted with instructions on how to proceed
*Please note that no refunds will be given for no-shows on the day of the event

CONTACT

If you have any questions about this event, please send an email to the following address.
info.mtrl@loftwork.com
(Contact: Kinoshita, Iida)

PROJECT TEAM

Professor, Kyoto Design Lab, Kyoto Institute of Technology
Julia Cassim

Julia studied fine art in the UK and Japan and is an international authority on inclusive design. As arts columnist of The Japan Times from 1984-99, she curated and designed award-winning exhibitions for audiences with visual impairments founding a non-profit organisation to increasing cognitive and physical access to museum collections. In 2000, she initiated the pioneering Challenge Workshops programme at the RCA which brought professional designers with disabled and older people in an inclusive co-design process. It was the subject of an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2010. Julia was included in Design Week’s Hot 50 list of people who had most influenced the design world in 2010. In 2014, she became a Professor at the Kyoto Institute of Technology, charged with setting up KYOTO Design Lab, as a centre for interdisciplinary design and innovation. Two D-Lab Lab projects she directed bringing together science and design won a Dutch Design Award in 2016 while another won the Best Idea award at the 2019 Copenhagen Fashion Film Festival.

Associate professor, Kyoto Saga University of Arts
Kori Ueda

After working for a major housebuilder and design office, Kaori Ueda moved to England to study textile design, graduating from Nottingham Trent University in 2005 and Royal College of Arts in 2007. After returning to Japan, she has been teaching, creating, and conducting academic research at universities, hoping to convey the fun of textile design. In 2009, she began working at Kyoto Saga University of Arts, where she was exposed to the splendor of Kyoto’s unique dyeing and weaving crafts and began researching traditional dyeing and weaving crafts. In 2016, she received her doctorate from Kyoto Institute of Technology and started her research on Tango chirimen. Through her research on Tango chirimen, she met Dr. Julia Cassim and joined the Textile Summer School in 2017. She is working to introduce new materials, fabrics, and designs to the world, utilizing the excellence of Japanese traditional dyeing and weaving crafts.

FABLAB Kitakagaya
Tomohiro Inoue

Tomohiro Inoue teaches digital fabrication to citizens at FABLAB Kitakagaya. His main area of activity is making things and creating things using digital fabrication, and he is developing a movement to promote the makers movement so that it does not become a transient movement.
https://fablabkitakagaya.org/
YouFab Global Creative Awards 2015 FINALISTS

DESIGN WEEK TANGO 2021 Executive Office
Founder/Director DESIGN WEEK KYOTO
Isao Kitabayashi

After working as a corporate sales representative at Osaka Gas in Kyoto and as a consultant for corporate human resource development at GLOBIS Corporation in Tokyo, he received his MBA from Doshisha Business School. In 2013, he established COS KYOTO Co., Ltd. and has been coordinating various projects to promote local industries globally. He also served as the director of TEDxKyoto from 2012 to 2014. Believing that there is a need for a place for diverse and free exchange in the region, he started “DESIGN WEEK KYOTO” in 2016.

Kyotango City Commerce and Industry Division
Satoru Kusakabe

Satoru Kusakabe joined Kyotango City Hall in 2014 and was assigned to the Commerce and Industry Division, Commerce and Tourism Department in 2017, where he was involved in several projects such as the Textile Summer School as a member of the Executive Committee for the 300th Anniversary of Tango Chirimen. Currently, he is engaged in the promotion of the textile industry, including Tango Chirimen, a local industry.

Loftwork Inc. / MTRL・FabCafe Kyoto Marketing and Produce
Kosuke Kinoshita

Kosuke Kinoshita has been involved in “MTRL (Material)”, which supports co-creation and innovation of manufacturing companies using materials as a starting point, and “FabCafe Kyoto”, a community base where various creators, researchers, and companies gather with the keywords of technology and creation, since its launch. Through online/offline workshop management and exhibition planning production, he is practising “creating a place where chemical reactions occur” and “designing contexts that connect things from different fields.
https://loftwork.com/jp/people/kousuke_kinoshita

Loftwork Inc. , Creative Director
Junya Iida

After working as an engineer for a semiconductor company for eight years, Junya Iida moved to the UK to study art and design. He graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design in London with a degree in Graphic Design. After returning to Japan, he worked as a graphic designer at SANDWICH, an art, architecture, and design company, before joining Loftwork in 2018.

GUEST SPEAKER

Product Designer
Sosuke Nakabo

Born in Kyoto in 1972, Sosuke Nakabo graduated in Product Design at Kyoto City University of Arts in 1998 and in Design Products at The Royal College of Art for postgraduate studies in 2002. He worked at Panasonic (Osaka), Muji (Tokyo) and Jasper Morrison’s office (London) and he opened an office in Kyoto in 2010. He has received numerous international design awards, including the Good Design Award, iF Award, IDEA, and Red Dot Award. He is also a part-time lecturer at Kyoto City University of Arts.
http://sosukenakabo.com/

Textile Designer
Shioka Okamoto

Shioka Okamoto specializes in research and production in textile design. She graduated from Tama Art University with a major in textile design in 2013 and moved to Europe, where she graduated from Chelsea College of Arts Graduate Diploma Interior Design in 2014 and completed Royal Danish Academy MA Textile Design in 2016. Since 2017, she has been working as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Design, Okayama Prefectural University. She has been working on creating works inspired by existing spaces and places, participating in group exhibitions in Japan and abroad, and presenting her works in solo exhibitions. In her collaborative research “Sensory Pleasure” with Usui Orimono Co., Ltd. she has developed a textile design that makes effective use of discarded polyester crepe.
http://www.shioka.net/

Kyoto Prefecture Textile Machine Metal Promotion Center
Yukihiro Tokumoto

Yukihiro Tokumoto is engaged in technical support and industrial promotion for the Tango textile industry at Kyoto Prefecture Textile Machine Metal Promotion Center. He specializes in the development of textile materials that combine techniques such as twisted yarn processing and jacquard of Tango crape. He has won the Excellence Award at the Japan Textile Contest 2018, 2019, and 2020. In recent years, he has been researching the application of Tango Chirimen, with its distinctive features such as high elasticity and multi-layered structure, to smart textiles, and is working to disseminate the results.
https://www.pref.kyoto.jp/oriki/
https://www.facebook.com/orikincenter/

Material Contributor

Organizer

Event Management

OUTLINE

Date 2021/06/24(THU) - 2021/07/02(FRI) 11:00–19:00 *JST
Venue FabCafe / MTRL KYOTO
京都府京都市下京区本塩竈町554

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