Stefania Castelblanco Perez

craft, design, resistance, sustainability, experimentation, environment, materiality, material culture, politics, ecology, artisanal
Colombia, Sweden (residence), Colombia (citizenship) °1984
research interests: Through practice and research, I investigate the relation between sustainability, material availability, traditional craft techniques and the role of collective, ecological and cultural resistance in craft processes
affiliation: Universidad Nacional de Colombia
en

Colombian artisan and researcher. My expertise lies in the crafting of upcycled bags and other accessories. Because of my background as a political scientist, my work has always been inspired by social and ecological awareness with a special focus on sustainable production processes. The materials mainly used in my work and projects are principally natural fibers, second hand fabrics and upcycled leather.  My research work is being centered on indigenous craft materiality and process as tools for social, cultural and ecological resistance.

research

research expositions

  • Meaning Containers (last edited: 2021) author(s): Stefania Castelblanco Perez This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
    The meaning containers project explores manifestations of social and cultural resistance in craft practices. The Meaning Containers are artisanal bags inspired by raffia palm objects from the Democratic Republic of Congo preserved in the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm. They are mainly inspired by a beanie initiation hat and amulet bags made with raffia palm. The meaning containers bags were part of a group exhibition called “Renegotiating Material Culture”, the result of a yearlong partnership between the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm and Research Lab at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design. One of the main objectives of the research project consisted in exploring how the museum and its collection can inspire our contemporary craft and also how craft can explore the museum. Resorting to the traditional Congolese Raffia palm weaving and beadwork techniques, these bags combine raffia palm with polypropylene and plastic bags used to store and transport cobalt and other precious minerals in the contemporary DRC. As a bag designer, I wanted to create bags using materiality and shape as communicative interfaces. Objects can be containers of social and cultural meaning and can tell the relationship that exists between communities and makers with their natural environment and social context. This presentation consists of a long abstract and photo diary of my research work.
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