The Entrelac exhibit, an installation jointly created by Jordanian artist Raya Kassisieh and American architecture firm NADAAA for Amman Design Week, is being repurposed in order to help the outflux of Syrian refugees. The Entrelac exhibit consisted of a massive amount of un-dyed wool, so the artist and architecture firm decided to recycle it into thick wool blankets at the cessation of the design week.
In its artistic form, Entrelac consisted of cascades of thick, hand-knit, un-dyed wool tubules that intersected to form a sort of web. Attractive though it was on its own, the 300 kilograms of wool used were still perfectly usable once the exhibition was completed. As such, Kassisieh and volunteers from the Amman Design Week team cut and stitched the material into warm wool blankets and donated them to Syrian families.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Upcycling Installations
- Art installations being repurposed into functional items for social good create an opportunity for sustainability and social impact.
- Sustainable Art
- Using recycled materials as the foundation for art installations is a way to address environmental issues and promote conscious consumption.
- Art for Social Change
- Art installations that serve a purpose beyond aesthetics, such as helping refugees, have the potential to inspire and mobilize people towards social change.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Art and Design
- The art and design industry can innovate by finding ways to reuse materials and incorporate social responsibility into their creations.
- Sustainability
- Companies in the sustainability industry can leverage the use of recycled materials to create products that promote eco-friendliness and address waste.
- Humanitarian Aid
- Humanitarian aid organizations can benefit from partnerships with artists and designers to create functional items out of recycled materials that address the needs of refugees and other marginalized communities.
