Application criteria.
To apply for our design program, applicants must meet the following criteria:
Age Requirement: The applicant must be at least 18 years of age.
Design Concept: The applicant should already have a design concept that they would like to collaborate on with rural, artisan textile weavers.
Project Presentation: The applicant must provide a presentation describing their project, which should address the following questions:
a. Relevance: Why do they believe their project is relevant to the goals of our program? How does it contribute to the preservation and modernization of ancient textile creation practices?
b. Context: In what context do they intend to use the textiles created through their project? Are they targeting fashion, fine art, interior design, or any other specific design field?
c. Learning from the Communities: What do they hope to learn from the rural, artisan textile weavers? How do they plan to engage and collaborate with the communities effectively?
d. Contributions to the Communities: What do they believe they can bring to the rural, artisan textile weavers and their communities? How will their project contribute to the well-being and empowerment of these communities?
Respect for Cultural Heritage: Applicants must demonstrate respect for the cultural heritage of the weavers. As our goal is to combat globalization and colonization practices in the textile industry, it is crucial that applicants show reverence for pre-colonial weaving methods.
Cultural Appropriation: Projects that aim to use weavers as mere producers without considering their cultural significance or that incorporate non-relevant or inappropriate patterns will be automatically dismissed from the application process.
Evaluation Process:
Project Evaluation: Once the application, including the project presentation, is received, our team will evaluate it within a week.
Live Q&A: If the initial evaluation is positive, the applicant will have a video call with our team for a live question-and-answer session to discuss their project further.
Final Judgment: The final judgment will be made within two weeks of the live Q&A session. Successful applicants will be notified accordingly.
We encourage all designers who meet the criteria to apply and look forward to receiving your applications. Together, we can foster a collaborative environment that respects the cultural heritage of rural, artisan textile weavers and brings ancient textile creation practices into a modern context.