This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.
Have you ever wondered about how our decisions about fashion, clothing and textile purchases have affected our environment and community and what we can do about it?
The latest installation of the award-winning Arlington Art Truck tackles these questions in FROM OUR WAIST TO WASTE: Is Fashion Sustainable (?) by artist Laure Drogoul, April 2 through May 22, at numerous activations throughout Arlington.
Learn about the history of American clothing as it relates to fashion, costume, cultural identity, garment construction and textile waste. Browse the Artist’s sculptural tent made of deconstructed garments that range in time period, style and material. Each garment has a label with information about its’ historical context.
Arlington Art Truck staff will model garments and answer questions about sustainability and fashion. Additionally, pick up a free Risograph-printed zine, created by the artist, which provides “close the loop” recycling solutions for discarded garments and textiles.
The project also solved a problem for another county agency that found itself with stacks of new work uniforms emblazoned with the old county logo. Our Community Partner for this project is Arlington Cultural Affairs’ Textile Studio which will be on-site at Art Truck activations sewing on patches featuring the new county logo.
The endeavor is saving thousands of dollars, as well as saving perfectly good uniforms from the landfill. A representative from the Textile Studio will be on-hand to answer your questions about how to repurpose items in your own home.
About Arlington Art Truck:
Launching to acclaim in 2018 with a major grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arlington Art Truck was a finalist for Americans for the Arts’ 2019 Gard Award for Arts and Community Life. The Arlington Art Truck embodies the Arlington Arts mission to revolutionize the traditional model of an arts venue.
Packed with digital and traditional creative tools, the “Truck” is a curated mobile toolbox for artists. From April through October, three artists-in-residence hit the streets engaging the public in art projects which are designed to blur the line between participant and presenter.
About the Artist:
Laure Drogoul is an interdisciplinary artist who lives and maintains a studio in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. Laure’s work embraces humor and play by inviting the viewer to be an active participant. She is engaged in developing strategies that emphasize people’s relationships to each other and in fostering a deeper understanding of our shared world.
Laure’s project for the Arlington Art Truck is a tactile information hub about fashion sustainability that invites the viewer to consider possible solutions to the ever-growing global environmental crisis.
About the Community Partner:
A program of Arlington Arts, The Textile Studio is a pop-up makerspace with a focus on recycling and reuse of fabrics and clothing and will offer workshops on sewing techniques to enable sewers to learn about the reuse of existing garments and how to create new ones.
The project kicks off on Saturday, April 2 (9 a.m.-12 p.m.) at Arlington Farmers Market, North Uhle & 14th Street N., (Courthouse Metro). Visit our webpage for the full schedule of activations throughout Arlington!