Workshop | Makryammos A.I.R.

Threads of Nature. On Weaving.

The basic technique of an ancient craft linked to the nature of Thasos

Alongside the second edition of Makryammos A.I.R. offers this year a unique one week workshop On Weaving, 25 - 30 September, 2023. It will consist of talks on the history of weaving, the art of natural dyeing, the tradition of weaving and contemporary art, botanical walks, museum visits and obviously weaving (on looms and non-conventional looms) at different locations.

Come to Thasos and weave and eco dye in the inspiring environment of the beautifully situated and comfortable Makryammos Bungalows.

Listen to the history of weaving by the Greek textile archaeologist Sofia Tsourinaki, following her experimental weaving labs on different open air locations. See local weaving examples in museum and private (home) collections of traditionally woven artefacts.

Join Dr Kalliopi Stara, researcher in Cultural Anthropology and Sacred Natural Sites, to a botanic walk. She will introduce different plants and vegetables that the island grows, which can be used for natural dyeing techniques and in weaving practices.

Contemporary artist Chiara Camoni will introduce you to her practice and invite you to experiment with the collected natural material in eco dying or weaving.

Give ear to the lecture of art historian and curator Kim Knoppers on weaving in contemporary art.

In the meantime enjoy the sun, sea and beach and delicious food. At the end of the workshop week you can bring your experiments and you will come home fully charged and inspired by the island of Thasos.

Crafting techniques like weaving, pottery and natural dying offer necessary insights to slower and more sustainable modes of production, art making and community building. Greece, and especially the islands have long standing weaving traditions and a heritage that is worth preserving and applied in different forms today. Contemporary artistic practice can be infiltrated by these systems of knowledge in innovative ways.

The workshop aims to transform the past of Thasos, adding a unique flair to the cultural and archaeological heritage of ancient and contemporary history of the island, into a multi-dimensional experience of the senses. It will offer 12 national and international artists/crafts people but also dedicated amateurs an opportunity to the participants to expand the medium of weaving by envisioning new creative and collaborative practices through experimenting with traditional disciplines, and organic materials found on site.

This workshop takes place on the occasion of the second edition of the Makryammos Ephemeral Art Residency with the invited Italian artist Chiara Camoni. Managed by Korax and initiated by Maria Mitzali and run by the artistic director Sylvia Sachini and curator Kim Knoppers, the Makryammos Ephemeral Art Residency offers a one-month residency by invitation to an artist or creative practitioner with the opportunity to rest and ruminate, reflect, as well as brainstorm and develop an ephemeral artwork in conversation with the surroundings of the Greek island of Thasos. The resident’s work takes place at the intersection of ephemeral art, nature and craft.

Practical information

This workshop is limited to 12 seats.
The early bird price is 400 Euros + VAT for the first 4 seats. Full price is 600€.

Deadline September 20, 2023.

These prices include:

the workshop fee,
all workshop supplies (loom, wool and dye plants)
7 days accommodation to luxurious Makryammos Bungalows, (shared rooms 2-3 people)
breakfast & dinner to Makryammos Bungalows
transportation to the outdoor group activities
entrance fee to museums / archeological places etc

These prices do NOT include:

flights or/and transportation to Thasos

extra meals & beverages
extra hotel facilities (massage / water sports etc)

Terms & Condition

Your seat is reserved with your deposit (50% of the fee).

The deposit is non-refundable ten days before the workshop begins.

Cancellations within 5 days of the workshop begins are completely non-refundable.

For further information contact info@makryammosair.org.

Sophia
Tsourinaki

Sophia Tsourinaki is a textile expert. She studied Three-Dimensional design at Ravensbourne College of Art and Design, London and Weaving, Dyeing and History of textiles at the Textile Art Center, Athens. She specialized in the analysis of archaeological textiles. From 1986 - 2017 she worked at several educational institutions as a tutor of Weaving, Dyeing, History and Material culture of textiles. Parallel to her teaching activities she was employed as a research fellow at the Benaki Museum, Athens, analyzing and focusing on the textiles of the Coptic collection for the forthcoming catalogue. From 1996-1999 she established the “Tissus-A European Programme for Textiles” at the Benaki Museum. From 2008 - 2009 she was employed as a textile consultant at the Museum of Silk, Soufli (Thrace, Greece). In 2015 she collaborated with the Archaeological Museum of Thebes (as a Scientific Associate) for the re-exhibition of the Mycenaean textile tools, as well as for the foundation of an educational Textile Workshop and a Learning Programme for the History of Textiles and Clothing. In 2023 she collaborated with the New Museum of Greek Culture for dressing an old horizontal loom and other weaving tools. From 2007 she is the head of the SEN Heritage Looms, a historical complex of buildings built in 1872, which houses a museum of ancient textiles and a weaving community, the only surviving example of its kind in Greece. Following a recent renovation of the buildings, the SEN Heritage Looms is open to the public with a full schedule of educational classes in weaving, fiber-arts and the history of textiles. Her special area of study is the archaeology of textile production, with a special emphasis in combining theoretical analysis with practical knowledge garnered from handicraft processes

Kalliopi
Stara

Kalliopi Stara lives and works in Ioannina. She is a researcher on issues related to the relationship of people with nature. Since 2012 she has been working as a researcher at the Department of Biological Applications and Technology of the University of Ioannina (UOI). She completed her studies at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, specialization in Psychology (1992), her MSc at Bangor, Wales, U.K., specialization in Ecology (2001), and her doctoral dissertation at the Department of Folklore of the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Ioannina (2009). In 2012 he shared with two other candidates an award for the best doctoral thesis in the field of "Protection and Development of Mountainous Environment and Local European Cultures" from the Metsovion Interdisciplinary Research Center (MIRC), National Technical University of Athens (NTUA).

Her research interests focus on the study of Sacred Natural Sites, Ethnobiology, Environmental History, Cultural Landscapes and Intangible Cultural Heritage. She is a member of the working group on the Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas of IUCN (CSVPA), secretary of the Board for the management of the PALASE Research Station in Ano Pedina, Zagori and a member of many national and local scientific societies, NGOs and associations dealing with the conservation of natural and cultural heritage. Since 2013 she has also been working on issues concerning the management of Non Timber Forest Products in Europe participating European working groups. In addition, she belongs to the drafting team of the dossier for the inclusion of Zagori in the UNESCO World Heritage sites, in the category Cultural Landscapes.

Kim
Knoppers

Kim Knoppers (b.1976, The Netherlands) is an art historian working as a writer, independent curator and lecturer. Currently she is working on several projects in Albania, Turkey and Greece. Between 2011 and 2021 she has been curator at Foam, photography museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands where she worked on over seventy group and solo exhibitions at the intersection of photography and other disciplines like sculpture, video, painting and performance. She has contributed to various magazines including Foam Magazine, Unseen and Aperture and has written essays for many catalogues and artist books. She is a lecturer at the MA Photography at ECAL in Lausanne, where she initiated the course Do Not Disturb — Curating in Progress.

Currently her focus is Photography in relation to archaeology, geology and ecology. Next to this she is working on a contemporary embroidery and weaving exhibition for a museum in The Netherlands. She is based between Selçuk, Turkey and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For the Makryammos Ephemeral Art Residency she has the role of curator.

Chiara Camoni

Chiara Camoni (b. 1974, Piacenza) lives and works in Fabbiano in the Apuan Alps of Alta Versilia, Tuscany.

Her practice consists of drawing, vegetal prints, video, and sculpting, particularly with ceramics. Her works often derive from collaboration with friends and family, impromptu associations, organized seminars and workshops. The “Centro di Sperimentazione” has appeared at the artist’s side for a few years now as a container for the various forms of shared authorship. Together with other artists, she founded the MAGra, Contemporary Art Museum of Granara and the Vladivostok group. With Cecilia Canziani she has been developing for some years the cycle of seminars "La Giusta Misura".

The programme is hosted by Makryammos Bungalows. This year's edition is made with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture, the support of the Municipality of Thassos and the Cultural Association "The Castle"