The Contemporary textile hub Kreativnice exhibits two textile works in Radovljica at the BIEN2021 Textile Art Biennial.
The textile installation River is on display in the left atrium of the Radovljica manor (Linhart Square).
The exhibition is open until August 14, 2021.
RIVER, 2021
Contemporary textile hub Kreativnice:
Nina Vastl Štefe, Anja Musek, Silva Horvat
Dimensions: 600×250 cm
Materials: spun and carded wool, linen, cotton
The town of Škofja Loka was defined by the Sora river which also gave it the name. Loka in Slovenian means a swampy meadow by the water. At the same time river strongly influenced the development of economy throughout history. Among others sawmills, blacksmithing, milling and millinery developed here. It was because of Sora that Krenner’s cloth factory could be established in the old town, on the foundations of which the Hat Factory of Šešir later ran production. With its power the river also enabled Krenner’s factory to produce its own electricity, with the surplus of which Škofja Loka was the first city in Carniola region to receive electrified city lighting in 1894. The Contemporary textile hub Kreativnice was established next to the former hat factory at the end of the factory’s operation, with the need to continue the creative and development potential of the textile factories. In a different form, however, this potential remains alive and develops. Just as the river once gave back to the city with electricity, today the creative textile community returns to the city with creativity.
The Sora connects the Poljane and Selca valleys with its riverbeds and has always provided a place for relaxation and time for people to connect with nature on its banks. The river revives and refreshes the city.
The inspiration for the textile installation RIVER was a piece of forty years old woven woollen fabric. It connected the work of textile designers and emphasizes clean design and simple lines. The symbolic meaning of the connection carried by the rivers is also woven into the textile installation RIVER. The river connects places, cities, countries. Bridges and footbridges connect different sides of riverbeds. At the same time, co-creation and creating common ideas connects, opens and develops contemporary communities.
Nowadays, clean water and a healthy environment are at stake, and the concern for responsible coexistence is not the highest among social values. RIVER questions our living and calls for a more responsible life style of each and every individual. Our rivers invite us to their banks to admire nature and to take time for ourselves, to inhale and exhale.
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