Fabric

This project invites citizens to gather implicit and marginalized knowledge on Vorarlbergs textile history and to collectively support accountability for past atrocities. In Vorarlberg, the 19th century textile industry established a fertile ground for what is now known as the prospering Rhein-Valley. The cultural archive attributes the areas affluence to a rigorous work ethic and committed entrepreneurship, captured most popularly in the saying Schaffa, schpära, husa; Katz verkofa, sealbr musa, meaning work, save, build a house; sell the cat, catch mice yourself. In this context, heavy silence prevails with regard to the enslaved labor that provided the cheap cotton for the rising textile empire in Vorarlberg. In addition, the guest work of Turkish workers, tedious work outsourced to farm women, factory labor of dispossessed farmers and many other extractivist processes are also excluded from this narrative, and its affirmation of innocence. Welcomed by the team of the Stadtmuseum Dornbirn, which has a unique interest and expertise in the history of the local textile industry due to the citys history, we aim to challenge this official narrative with a participatory artistic research project. We invite a diverse range of citizens to listen to silenced voices, engage with disappeared bodies and resonate with the experiences that have largely been written out of the official history of Vorarlbergs textile industry. Our engagement is framed by the dramatic method called sociodrama approached here as research method: The sociodrama is a form of action research, which provides both, an instrument for analysis as well as for problem-solving. The sociodrama invites groups to explore social issues from different viewpoints as if, and hence develop a deeper understanding of systems and workings. The sociodrama then is our means to gather stories that will enrich the cultural archive of Vorarlberg and challenge in a culture of superiority. The sociodrama is carried out by a so-called director and a group of so-called players, plus supporting players and witnesses (the audience). In this project, we put out multiple calls for participation in and contributions to the making of eight sociodramas. The latter will take place at different locations on stages that inspire us to project scenes for an alternative history of the textile industry.