Summer 2018 Open Call for Artists

Tribe Against Machine e-Textile Fest – 6 – 15 Jul 2018 – Miaoli, Taiwan

The Nomadic Textiles

Open Call 2018:

“Tribe Agains Machine” aims to bring tribal communities and villages in remote areas to participate in discussion about how future and traditions can be woven together. It also aims to create a networking environment among these fading culture groups, as an alternative to the use of future technologies that will only serve capitalism.

“The light from the lost past is being gazed upon once again and is expected to serve the future in dark.” The term machine was used in the 60’s as a synonym for the technology-driven future, whereas a tribe is a distinct, self-sufficient group that has yet to be integrated into a technology-driven society.

We are inviting e-Textile artists, media artists, anthropologists, engineers, and tribe culture researchers to join this 2nd dialog between technology and tradition happening in Miaoli, Taiwan.

The invited artists will live, work, and collaborate with Atayal textile artists. It will be a 10-day event where we will deliver workshopas and we will also have time for collaboration with each other within some given discussion frame. Most important is that we wish you have the chance to simply explore the village and have your own special experience this summer in Taiwan.

Theme of the Year : The Nomadic Textiles

How to Apply:

Please send the followings to: tribe.against.machine@gmail.com

• Name/email
• A bio (maximum 200 words) or your website
• Your current project, research, interest and weblink of it.
• A statement about what you wish to work on during the camp (maximun 500 words)
• Description of the workshop you would like to share with us, including time duration, material lists, descriptions in PDF form.
• Deadline: May 5th, 2018.

Site Briefing:

Lihang Workshop (野桐工坊) is a weaving art group located in the Atayal village Maypuwal, Miaoli, next to Shei-Pa Ntional Park. Lihang Workshop is created by Yuma Taru, the artist who has dedicated herself in Atayal culture revival and has successfully reproduced 400-500 authentic traditional Atayal costume during the past two decades. To strengthen this goal, we are welcomed to work with Lihang Workshop to explore how e-textile can participate in the community and give new life to tribe textile art, sociologically and experimentally. Yuma Taru herself will be conducting some of the workshops.

Event location:

Event site is located in the quiet Xiang-bi village at Da-an Creek, where Lihang Workshop was founded.
https://goo.gl/maps/F2DJ2ThNYtj

Accommodation will be at Shilin Village.

Accommodation camp area at Shilin Village, where the dam is located.

Event Structure:

1. Workshops from both sides

• Atayal’s Workshop
  There will be 4 workshops given by Atayal community to invited artists, so far these are what they want to share with our quests:
• Open Call Artists’ Workshop
  There will be 4 workshops given by open call artists to the Atayal communities, the content will be prepared by the open call artist. We will help you to develop the content together and make it relates to the Atayal skills such as weaving or dyeing.

Atayal’s Workshop #1

This workshop will cover:

• traditional music/Lubuw(Atayal jew’s harp)
• traditional performance & ceremony

Atayal Workshop #2

This workshop will cover: textile, weaving & pattern, focus on the form and formation of Atayal costume.

Atayal Workshop #3

This workshop will cover: history of the tribe of the river, the migration of Atayal.

Atayal Workshop #4

This workshop will cover: fibers & materials (ramie, straw, and pineapple), “for fibers & materials, we will have another one-day trip to nearby Zhuo Ye (卓也) Indigo Dyeing Workshop and Shan-jiao(山腳) Community.

2. Discussion Session

Topic of Discussion: Community Currency

In order to connect to “The Nomadic Fabric” idea, we wish to open 2 discussion sessions during the camp under the topic of Community Currency: Taking time as currency was a popular concept back to 80s to 90s, but often failed or only exist in small scale due to many reasons, the accessibility of the currency or members are often hesitant to document the credit. However the impacts to the society still positive for providing special connection between members, redefine work values for sometimes lots of labour is not included in the final product value. Further more, it is an extremely interesting idea for craftsmanship workers to turn time of the making into something valuable or even communication unit between communities world-widely.

• *References:
  Hureai Kippu
  http://community-currency.info/en/currencies/asia/fureai-kippu/
• Time Bank
  http://community-currency.info/en/glossary/projects/knit-a-network-timebank-knowledge-commons-project/
• Totnes Pound
  https://www.totnespound.org

Collaboration:

Sketch of Reality
What are the possibilities to document reality environment, culture, people, experiences, or people interaction through smart materials, conductive threads, resistance value of conductive threads, or even just videos and audios? We welcome all experiential, fun activities for this “site sketches” and make it into an innovative way therefore it could be more accessible to the modern society.

Come Together
Following last year’s concept of wearable zine, and some discussion with Atayal artists, we would like to do a group actives that each of us bring a piece of their textile/zine/weaving that is able to be assembled, interact, or connect with other artists. During the final presentation or even at our campfire party, we’ll play around and have group fun time altogether. This could only happen when we’re all together, for a memorable time and a prototyping of “tribal connection” practice.

Ceremony And Final Presentation: July 15th

July 15th will be the Atayals annual ceremony at nearby Shilin village, to remember ancestors and time for all family to spend time together, it will be our closing day too. After we observe the ceremony, we’ll have our final presentation at the Shilin Village’s community centre, for more Atayal neighborhood to join as a open studio session.

Basic Informations:

Tribe Against Machine sponsors all the cost during the event, including 10 days campsite accommodation, full board, group excursions to the site, and project development facilitators, local traffic fee. Flight ticket is not included.

For open call artist:

1. Please prepare a 2 – 3 hours workshop exchanging what you would like to share with all other artists. It is more an “exchanging and learn from each other session” than a formal workshop. You can have a look of last year’s workshop for some information, feel free to reach out and discuss with us about it.

2. Please bring one piece of your e-Textile or any other recent work you want to showcase or share with other artists as well as local neighborhood, the piece will be exhibited altogether in the village during the event period.(it’s not a mandatory request)

Camp Schedule:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v00w2ot7bL19M0EzaAMJ-9Yg7bOHAbwBy6T1ENTDJw0/edit?usp=sharing

ARRIVAL on the 5th of July
DEPARTURE  on the 16th of July​

Machines/weaving assisting:
We are free to use any equipments in Lihang Workshop, we have one big industrial embroidery machines, some half automatically looms and traditional looms, sewing machines, solder stations, there are also professional Atayal artists to assist each focus group project if you don’t know how to use it. We will also have working/solder stations.

Transportation:
We will arrange your transportation from and to Taoyaung International Airport, also group activities transportation during the camp. Further detailed arrangements will be announced around beginning of June.

Accommodations:

During the summer camp, accommodations for the participants are provided at Lu-su camp site, there will be 2 – 3 tents on site available to be borrowed, however all camp equipments including tents, sleeping bags are to be bring along with all participants. campsite facilities:

• electric plugs
• refrigerator
• toilets and shower
• hot/cold drinking water
• rain shed

For those of you who joined us last year…

Although this year we came back again with the same passion and curiosities for more exchange, firstly we have to reluctantly deliver the fact that we can not to provide ticket sponsor this year due to the limited budget this year, hopefully we can help you to get local funding with invitation letter from the Taiwan government.

Also this year we will only have the 10 days workshop in the village, there will not be Taipei exhibition and symposium like last year, but we are happy to be your local guide in Taipei after the event!

We would like to say thank you to all the participants last year again, I believe we were all very inspired by the camp last year, now we have e-textile workshops with the Atayal artists and we started to come up with ideas together for this year design, the workshops opened more possibilities and content for us, we will always welcome you to join us in Taiwan and perhaps other sites of Asia!