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A co-creative Cadavre Exquis created from the works of (from top to bottom) Riyadhus Shalihin & Widi Asari (Indonesia), Garcia Bello (Argentina

State of Fashion Biennale 2022 | Ways of Caring opens on 3 June

On the third of June, the second edition of the State of Fashion Biennale will open in Arnhem. With Ways of Caring as the central theme, State of Fashion wishes to honour the people, our environment, and the stories that haven't been given space in fashion to be heard. Hence, the Biennale 2022 will welcome many international participants from a variety of backgrounds, who will contribute to the encounter of differences.

In order to make the Biennale transparent, multi-faceted and participative, the programme of State of Fashion Biennale 2022 was created through international Open Calls and open dialogues. This process started back in 2020 with an Open Call for Curators and continued in 2021 with an Open Call for Contributors. More than 150 fashion practitioners from almost 50 countries responded. In the Eusebius, there will be a collective exhibition. Through collaborations with international designers, practitioners and local community networks, a series of interventions in the city will take place, all designed to engage and challenge communities to reimagine the way we think about, repair and care for our clothes, as well as the people who make them and the earth we must conserve.

Collective co-creation
The contributors see the major challenges we collectively face in the world and share the understanding that fashion can play an important role in overcoming them. The co-curators of Fashion Open Studio and NOT____ENOUGH collective, together with a panel of fashion practitioners from Arnhem and the rest of the world, started a dialogue with all the invited makers, designers and artists about the possibility of sharing their thoughts and practices and/or making completely new work in a collective co-creation for the upcoming biennale. This collective way of thinking and creating is pivotal in resisting the dominant standards in fashion. This group of enthusiastic contributors are giving voices to different and multiple narratives as an alternative to dominant one of the fashion industry. Apart from the inevitable transition to a sustainable fashion industry, this edition of the State of Fashion will provide insight into the necessary repair of the worldwide relationships between makers and users, between the earth and materials.

State of Fashion will engage visitors with an insightful exhibition and numerous interactive interventions in the centre of Arnhem. Collectively, these will demonstrate that so much more is possible than the all too familiar and compelling standards. Things can change. Things have to change. State of Fashion shows how.

Participating artists State of Fashion Biennale 2022 | Ways of Caring are amongst others; Amy Suo Wu (China / the Netherlands), Anabel Poh Zhi Ru (Singapore / the Netherlands), Ateliê Vivo (Brazil), Cedric Mizero (Rwanda), Clara Chu (UK), Danayi Madondo (Zimbabwe), Dorian Ulises (Mexico), Eunice Pais (Portugal), Fibershed Nederland (the Netherlands), Fundación Amor Real (Colombia), Garcia Bello (Argentinia / the Netherlands), Hul le kes (the Netherlands), Nishanth Chopra of Oshadi Collective (India), Santiago Útima (Colombia), Siviwe James (South Africa), Soup Archive (UK / Germany), Toton (Indonesia), Tra My Nguyen (Vietnam / Germany), Wei-Chi Su (Taiwan / the Netherlands), Widi Asari & Riyadhus Shalihin (Indonesia). 

Read here the State of Fashion Newsletter #1 March

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State of Fashion Biennale 2022 | Ways of Caring opens on 3 June