Chemnitz can look back on a long and traditional history of textile processing. The tenth FUNKEN Night will pose the question: What role does the creative and research-based use of textiles play in today's materials research? Elke Thiele from the Saxon Textile Research Institute (STFI) will be invited to answer this question. She will provide insights into the significance of artistic positions in the field of applied research in Chemnitz. We will also welcome designer Svenja Lühr, who will present her work and research on elastic fabric structures made from bioplastics.
PROGRAMME:
From 17:00 - Open Doors
17:30 - Keynote speech by Dipl.-Ing. Elke Thiele
As part of the Textile LAB, Dipl.-Ing. Elke Thiele supports and accompanies professional creative actors with her specialist expertise and gives them access to the diverse textile technologies that the Saxon Textile Research Institute (STFI) has to offer. She is a familiar face at the FUNKEN Academy. The STFI is a non-profit research institute in Chemnitz that deals with issues of textile sustainability and works on resource-efficient, energy-optimised processes - particularly in the fields of technical textiles, lightweight textile construction, functionalisation, digitalisation and recycling.
18:00 - Keynote speech by Svenja Lühr.
Svenja Lühr is a textile designer with a background in fashion and costume design. Her work operates at the intersection of textiles, art and craft, focussing on material research, sustainability and experimental surfaces. She specialises in weaving - from jacquard and dobby weaves to complex weaves and expressive materials. In addition to working on the hand loom, which allows her to get close to the material, she explores the potential of bioplastics, which she produces herself and combines with textile structures. In her lecture, she will provide insights into her experimental projects with bioplastics, which explore haptic, three-dimensional surface structures and recyclable material concepts.
