Soft Spaces: Beyond the glitter
Visiting time: ●●● Short (20 minutes)Soft Spaces: Beyond the glitter opened at Design Museum Den Bosch on 18 January. The presentation is the result of a unique co-creation process in which groups from the city have teamed up with textile artists to develop a ‘soft space’ together: a space for conversations about themes like mental health, identity and security. For this second round of Soft Spaces, the Drag Up Family worked with the textile artist Yamuna Forzani. The result is an artistic living room in which you will discover the local drag collective’s experiences. And that there is more to drag than glitter: it is also a way of asking thought-provoking questions about identity and social themes. The presentation can be viewed free of charge on the museum’s ground floor.
Drag as an art form that pushes boundaries
The Drag Up Family – born in the living room of drag royalty Maybe Boozegeoisie – has grown into an artistic action study within the Academy of Perception, where drag is applied as a source of knowledge and a practice space for a more inclusive society. For the Drag Up Family there is more to drag than glitter: it’s about discovering and embracing your own identity. Drag shatters stereotypes, demands freedom and shifts boundaries. For yourself or for someone else. Whether subtle or over the top, drag is a form of activism you can use to try out and propagate new definitions of ‘normal’. In this way, the Drag Up Family is helping to build a community in which anyone wishing to experiment with drag is welcome. A soft space in which anyone can find a home.
About Soft Spaces
Soft Spaces is an ongoing project in which Design Museum Den Bosch brings together three groups from the city with three textile designers to co-create three successive presentations. Soft Spaces: Beyond the glitter is the second in the series, and has been created by the Drag Up Family in collaboration with Yamuna Forzani. The focus is on using different forms of textile work to create a safe and accessible space in which to share and heal powerful feelings about mental health and identity. Soft Spaces builds on the idea of a ‘safe space’ by exploring what such a space might look and feel like for different groups. After all, design responds to a need in society, while textiles echo the social fabric, making the threads that weave us together visible and open to discussion.
The project is supported by the Cultural Participation Fund.
Foto Evita Copier
