Soft Spaces: Dug–out is the result of a unique co-creation process, in which young people and young adults are paired with textile artists to develop a Soft Space together. This is a space where conversations can be held on topics that are important to young people, such as mental health, identity and safety. For this first edition, young people from PowerUp073 (the youth work organisation in Den Bosch) worked with fashion designer Irene Ha, also known as Baby Reni. The result is a space designed by the young people themselves, which can be admired on the freely accessible ground floor of Design Museum Den Bosch.
For the past three months, eleven young people drawn from the network of the youth support organization PowerUp073 have been working on a Soft Space of their own with the fashion designer Baby Reni. Their conversations have focused on issues of image and identity, raising questions such as ‘how am I perceived by others and what prejudices do I encounter?’ and ‘who am I when I can authentically be myself, free of outside scrutiny?’ In this way, topics like neurodiversity, sexism, racism, identity, gender and mental health have been given a place in the soft space that the young people have shaped together. The participants set themselves a clear goal: to make other young people feel seen and to create a place where they can be acknowledged.
Video by Jongens en co
About Soft Spaces
Soft Spaces is a long-term project in which Design Museum Den Bosch connects three groups of young people and young adults with three textile designers to work with them on three consecutive presentations through co-creation. The central question is how textile working methods can be used to create an accessible, safe space for sharing and healing feelings surrounding mental health and identity. Soft Spaces elaborates on the idea of a “safe space” by questioning what a “safe space” can look and feel like for different groups. After all, design arises from a social need, and textiles, as a fabric, can make (social) connections discussable and visible. Soft Spaces: Dug–out is the first presentation in the series.
Soft Spaces: Dug–out is guided by audience-engagement staff member Sanne Boersma. The graphic design is provided by Dana Dijkgraaf Design.
