The public sewing room
The Public Sewing Room is a public-facing interdisciplinary Participatory Action Research project that looks to incorporate the youth to social and cultural dynamics via dressmaking, creation of accessories, and different types of workshops related to the production and consumption of fashion. The Public Sewing Room utilizes clothing and accessory design as a method of popular education to provide youth with critical tools to become active subjects in the construction of their identities. The pilot of this project took place in 2013. The project was awarded the 2013 Social Innovation Prize by the University of Costa Rica.
Archive of the project: elcostureropublico.blogspot.com
speaking
- 2014 The Public Sewing Room. II National Conference on Innovation. Category: innovator. University of Costa Rica, September 8-11
- 2013 Accomplishments and Learnings Encounter. Social Action Students’ Initiatives, University of Costa Rica. November 21.
- 2013. II University Encounter on Children and Adolescents . PRIDENA, University of Costa Rica. August 23. Presenters: Mónica López y Alberto Borge.
writing
- 2019. Language, Fashion, and Ecology: Unraveling Discourse Collectively. In Language and Biodiversity: New Perspectives on Old Inequalities. Ed. Diego Forte Buenos Aires: Ecolingüística Argentina.
- 2013 The Public Sewing Room: Towards a Critical Construction of Fashion, Body, Identity, and Consumption with Alberto Borge, Gustavo Jiménez y Mónica López. Conference Proceedings of the XXIX Latin American Sociology Conference (ALAS 2013). Santiago, Chile.
- 2013 Youth People Reflect on Fashion, Identity, and Consumption Social Action at University of Costa Rica, April 22.
Aknowledgements
- Mónica López Solórzano (Pedagogy), Alberto Borge Araya (Anthropology/Psychology), and Gustavo Jiménez Barboza (Sociology) for creating and making this project to happen collectively.
- Social Action Students’ Initiatives Grant of the University of Costa Rica for the economic support to make this idea possible in 2013.
- Parque La Libertad (Costa Rica) for supporting us to coordinate and develop the project in their facilities.
- Jerry Mora (Sociologist) for coordinating with us and the Youth Cultures Network of Parque La Libertad.
- Magdalena Madrigal Ramírez (fashion designer, IED Moda Lab, Milano), Sandy Montenegro (visual artist), Felipe Martinez (visual artist), Rachel Orozco (visual artist), Enrique Valverde Get (visual artist), Ismael Quesada (visual artist), and Paola Bermudez (visual artist) for their support to the project via workshops on different skills.
- Singer Costa Rica for opening the doors to the participants who wanted to take additional sewing classes.
Media Coverage
- 2013 Students Rewarded for Innovative Ideas. University of Costa Rica, December 13
- 2013 The Public Sewing Room. Contrastes [Interview], Radio U. Costa Rica, August 05.
- 2013 The Public Sewing Room. Comunidad 870 AM [Interview]. Costa Rica, September 05.
- 2013 The Public Sewing Room: Dressing Desamparados with Education. Voz UCR, Student Editorial at the University of Costa Rica, August [printed].
- 2014. International Art Festival 2014- Exchange and intervention of clothes. Costa Rica Gratis. April 1