Unsure what to do with that broken stereo? Those one-armed sunglasses, or that conked-out iPod? Well it‟s time to clean out your cupboards, get creative and do your bit for the environment at the same time. The last weekend in July will see this year‟s State of Design Festival tackle the growing mountain of broken consumer goods and gadgets with artistic flair.
The Repair Workshop is a three part event:
Wednesday and Thursday 27-28July – a team of eight artists, designers and engineers will spend two days at Donkey Wheel House repairing and re-imagining a mountain of broken things rescued from landfill.
Friday 29 July – The repaired and recreated items will be revealed at a fundraising auction, with all proceeds going to Environment Victoria.
Saturday and Sunday 30-31 July – Repair Workshop and exhibition open to the public - bring along your broken items for a free repair session guided by the expert repair team.
Where: Basement of the historic Donkey wheel House, 673 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Register for a FREE repair session: www.therepairworkshops.com Cost: Free!
The Repair Workshops project aims to challenge the way we think about products and their design. Why is the stuff we buy designed to break so easily and why we are losing the ability to repair things?
Mountains of broken things have been rescued from landfill thanks to local charities. On Wednesday and Thursday, talented repair experts will repair or re-imagine these items into works of art that will be on exhibition over the weekend.
During the weekend the public is invited to bring along broken items for a FREE repair session guided by professional artists, designers and engineers. The in-house repair experts include: Dylan Martorell, Lizzy Sampson, Tim Denshire-Key, Yvette King, Will Campbell, Scott Mitchell, Dr Gregory Crocetti and Jason Bond.
“We want to spark public interest in how notions of „repair‟ might help tackle some of the urgent environmental issues we face today,” says co-director Emma Grace, founder of sustainable fashion initiative The Treasury. “It was once common practice to repair old, worn or broken goods, but this is being lost in today‟s throwaway culture.” The dire consequences show up in increasing levels of waste, resource loss and pollution.
“This project brings together technically minded and creative people to explore innovative, hands-on ways to repair, re-purpose and re-imagine everyday consumer objects – many of which have been intentionally designed to have short lives,” says project co-director Leyla Acaroglu of award winning environmental consultancy Eco Innovators. “we really need to move beyond a throwaway society‟ and start creating more satisfying and value driven things.”
