MADE IN Platform for Contemporary Crafts & Design is a research, design, and heritage initiative for collaboration and knowledge exchange among designers, craftspeople, and other experts in the fields of culture and science. Building on its award-winning predecessor, MADE IN: Crafts–Design Narratives, the platform addresses issues central to preservation and explores new articulations of embodied knowledge found in the rich legacy of craftsmanship, while encouraging critical thinking through contemporary art and design practices. Through this cross-pollination of heritage and innovation, the aim is to push the boundaries of these disciplines, in turn leading to the emergence of new crafts, such as those addressing urban biodiversity.
Furthermore, MADE IN aims to showcase innovative material research and design processes, serving as a platform for a new generation of designers and environmentalists—a generation exploring diverse cultural practices and developing sustainable production methods and circular material cycles that respect natural environment.
“Invited artists, designers, and craftspeople delve into specific local contexts, considering the responsible use of materials and their potential for regeneration, adopting a place-based approach. By integrating insights from science and nature, this approach shifts the focus from human-centered to life-centered.” —Ivana Borovnjak, co-founder of Oaza and MADE IN initiator and curator
At the core of MADE IN lies the Knowledge Atlas, a comprehensive repository of transdisciplinary expertise and natural resources. With over 100 entries covering traditional techniques, materials, processes, and modern innovations, it is a valuable resource for exploring craftsmanship, making, and designing. The Crafts section, among many other entries, features traditional basket weaving in Portugal and urban mycelium mushroom farming in Slovenia. Nature phenomena entries encompass sea salt harvesting and Adriatic white stone in Croatia, fine-grained clay from Lješeva, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and bacterial nanocellulose from Serbia. Scientific knowledge mapping includes domestic silkworm cultivation in Germany, and eco-biotechnology in Serbia. Published on the MADE IN website, the Atlas comprises textual material together with extensive photographic and video documentation.
Knowledge is explored through MADE IN Collaborations and MADE IN Dialogues—activities that make up more than 60 different events, including workshops, residencies, summer schools, conferences, and seminars. The Crafting Biodiversity research project conducted by Trajna / Krater Collective is underway in Slovenia positioning craft as a reparatory land practice. Nancy Diniz and Frank Melendez Hyperaccumulating Architectures residency project in Slovenia speculates on visions of regenerative conservation, using mycoremediation techniques to reduce heavy metal contamination of soils and promote more resilient ecosystems based on semi-living materiality with a multi-species approach open to experimentation with a view to a decarbonized future. In Croatia, Drugo more and Oaza are utilizing SOLL, an AI designer, to craft a bold narrative intertwining the Mediterranean mythology with futuristic innovation, while the Echoes of the Abyss I with Robertina Šebjanič residency addresses the environmental impact of discarded weapons on ocean seabeds. In Portugal, a series of residencies and a summer school facilitated by Passa Ao Futuro are dedicated to exploring basket weaving through collaborations of traditional craftspeople and designers. And in Serbia, a student residency Intertwined by Nova Iskra with Turbina and Faculty for Contemporary Arts (FCA), Belgrade explores knitting processes and community cooperation through the building of a joint installation.
“The MADE IN project demonstrates an array of new possibilities for craft processes based on interdisciplinary knowledge and skills exchange, which in turn has the potential to effectively address various social and environmental issues.” — Maja Vardjan, Director of Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) and MADE IN curator
The products, prototypes, skill shares and research will be documented in MADE IN exhibitions in six platform-partner countries, and in MADE IN book.
More MADE IN here.
Contact: hello [at] madein-platform.com
MADE IN: Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), Center ROG (Slovenia); Oaza, Museum of Arts and Crafts (MUO) & Drugo more (Croatia), Nova Iskra (Serbia); University of Applied Sciences Zwickau & State Art Collections Dresden, Museum of Decorative Arts (SKD) (Germany); City Museum of Zenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Passa Ao Futuro (Portugal).
