Textiles by Ronda Mx-Berlin.
This is a project of Kunst-Stoffe e. V. and ATEA, created by Mexican and German actors active in the areas of upcycling, repair, urban development and participatory culture. The project was possible thanks to the support of the State Office for Cooperation and Development in Berlin (Landesstelle für Entwicklungszusammenarbeit des Landes Berlin).
This publication “Textiles” it is focused on the work of projects and individuals in Mexico City and Berlin. We decided to work on a publication dedicated exclusively to textiles because we were certain that it is a subject “with a lot of fabric to cut”, and because we believe that the textile industry is involved in urgent topics to discuss like labor exploitation, the excessive form of growth economic for business owners, social inequality and environmental pollution in many countries.
At the same time, the textile industry has witnessed the struggle of workers who raise their voices for better working conditions. In Mexico, the traditional textile has been taken up as a preservation of the culture and transmitter of knowledge, but also as a generator of networks and local economies. In Berlin, independent projects emerge and seek the exchange without hierarchies and work in the education field to talk about the excessive amounts of consumption and waste of clothes in Germany and in Europe.
A big part of the research it is focused on women’s work because they are precisely the ones who have received the most impact due to irregular working conditions. Currently, the wage gap between men and women is still very irregular in countries such as Mexico and Germany, not to mention the labor exploitation in “maquilas” of countries of the global south.
Many people contributed to this first publication and at the time of closing this edition we still have many topics on the desk related to textiles and social, economic and environmental issues, but also with art and technology.
Unfortunately the publication it is only available on spanish and german language.
Coordination: Anna Nonnenmacher, Nayeli Vega
Editor: Anna Nonnenmacher, Barbara Rühling, Daniela Orozco, Meri Davis, Nayeli Vega,
Translations: Anna Nonnenmacher, Felix Lang
Design: Uniform
Photography : Christian Hetey, Mariel Vaquiero