Doha: Years of Culture and M7 have announced an open call inviting Qatari fashion designers specialising in embroidery to apply for CULTUKAR, a new collaborative design residency programme created to bring cultures together.
As part of the Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture, CULTUKAR offers Qatari and Indonesian product and fashion designers a chance to collaborate with peers and traditional craft masters from Indonesia to create bespoke products and fashion items that will be profiled during major industry events later in the year.
Qatar Museums’ Director of Cultural Diplomacy, Aisha Ghanem Al Attiya, said: “We’re excited to invite Qatari fashion designers to participate in the CULTUKAR programme and engage with Indonesian culture and craft traditions. Participants will have the chance to explore traditional Indonesian craft techniques and collaborate with local artisans to create innovative designs.”
M7 Director, Maha Al Sulaiti said: “Indonesia’s vibrant textile traditions offer incredibly rich inspiration for residency participants to collaborate and create. The fashion industry in Qatar has seen rapid growth and we hope that this residency will continue to showcase Qatar’s talented creatives on the global fashion stage. M7 is proud to partner with Years of Culture to champion creative talents and foster cross-cultural collaboration.”
Designers are asked to prepare a personal statement and portfolio that best displays their work for submission through the Years of Culture website by May 20 at 5pm Doha time. The hybrid programme spans three months from May-July, including a 10-day onsite workshop in Tasikmalaya in West Java, Indonesia. Participants will take part in various activities, ranging from group discussions, skill apprenticeships, crafter and designer studio visits, to prototype design and development.
Participants will also be tasked with considering the challenge of responsible production using sustainable materials and waste management. Two Qatari designers will be chosen to participate in the residency. Each will be paired with an Indonesian peer to promote the exchange of ideas, knowledge transfer and open pathways for long-term collaboration. The two selected Qatari participants will join material designer Hana Surya and textile designer John Martono who will represent the Indonesian creative industries during this hybrid residency.
An incredible team of mentors and masters has also been assembled to support the participating designers including Dr. Tyar Ratuannisa, S.Ds., M.Ds., Dr. Kahfiati Kahdar, M.A., Tazkia Welong, M.Ds., and Uyung Aria.
The CULTUKAR residency will explore the richness of Tasikmalaya’s culture in the form of craft. The objectives are to identify the cultural wealth of Tasikmalaya through the diversity of embroideries that are closely related to the region’s natural resources, to understand the methods of collaboration during the design process between designers, or designers and the community, to analyse the correlation between embroidery and cultural identity; how cultural identity shapes and enhances the concept, the process, or the design, and to develop artwork and designs that revive or transform Qatari and Indonesian traditions. Requirements for interested participants are: knowledge of fashion design processes, has at least two years of experience as a professional designer, and applicants must be Qatari nationals.
