Review: Textile upcycling at the Vienna Business School

As part of the EU Interreg project SYMCRAFT – Creative craft for industrial symbiosis in circular economies, a creative upcycling workshop was held at the Vienna Business School with 8th grade students in the Visual Arts class. The focus was on the practical experience of textile recycling in the classroom.

Heidi Bichler-Ripfel from the IAGF explained the background of the project to the students in the classroom. She opened the workshop with an interactive presentation and a slide show on the possibilities of material recycling and explained how collaborations between craftspeople, artists, and industrial companies can develop. 

Examples of environmentally conscious art and design projects were then shown, demonstrating the creative potential of textile waste materials.

In the practical part, the students were able to touch and compare various leftover materials they had brought with them and discuss their properties: Which materials come from which context? And how can they be transformed into new art and design objects? This made it clear that textile waste can not only be disposed of, but also used as a valuable resource for creative ideas.

Building on this, each student developed their own piece of work from textile waste provided by textile companies. 

The resulting works will be presented in the Vienna Business School's premises during the school year. This will make the results of the workshop visible not only to the class, but to the entire school community. The cooperation with SYMCRAFT shows how real artistic and craftsmanship practices and circular thinking can be integrated into teaching – and how young people can find a new approach to sustainability and responsible business through art.

Follow-up: https://www.vis.ac.at/news/detail/grade-8-transforms-recycled-fabrics-into-art