DESCRIPTION AND METHODOLOGIES
A magic carpet in fairytales has transboundary energy and can overcome space and time. It is protective, supporting and securing and for some nomadic folks even the base of being. With our project we want to create a carpet, to overcome boundaries, connect cultures and built a supporting community in Bolzano, because our society is in transition and we can not ignore it any longer. We want to felt the different cultures together and thus integrate the refugees in our society.
Activities
In a series of workshops refugees and citizens work together on small carpets, that contain individual stories, to then join them together and enlarge the magic carpet. Public, repetitive activities with the magic carpet shows the growing community and the new living space in the form of a coming together and enjoying activities. Our mission is to connect as many individuals as possible, so prospect friendships and working collaborations can arise.
Felting wool is a technique to join and connect wool fibres together. We use this technique to bring people together and built a connection among them. The process of felting together doesn’t require any special machines or experience. For our first workshop we invited 7 refugees and 7 citizens to work together on pieces for the carpet. We teamed them up in pairs, each team designed and worked together on one small carpet. The felted pieces contain individual stories, pattern and motives which the participants developed though the workshop. A series of workshops will enlarge the Magic Carpet constantly. The single pieces get sewed together to create one big piece. More and more individuals will be slowly connected. Public outdoor activities with the carpet will show the growing and willing community. The magic carpet is used as a shared, open and welcoming space, to show the public, that individuals from different cultures can cross the boundaries and gather together. A hiking sign leads and welcomes the people passing by to us, we want to bring as many people together as possible.
