19-25 AUGUST IN ABASTAN
Silence lab
by tsekh animacii
Tsekh Animacii (literally, Animation Workshop) — is a collective from Moscow who create innovative animation and teach courses in specific areas. In addition, they are friends of Abastan who left Russia due to the start of the war against Ukraine. The idea of the laboratory was that artists experiencing trauma and decline in creativity could once again feel the taste of the pure creative process, as well as to express the accumulated emotions through creativity.
Silence helps to listen to oneself. The silence in terms of consuming less information and the literal silence - the absence of noise. It is especially valuable that the Silence Lab took place in a small quiet town in a mountain gorge in Tumanyan. About 40 participants took part in the Laboratory. For 5 days they moved around 7 workshops in the spaces of Abastan. About 30 people from different cities came to Abastan to take part in the Lab, as well as some Abastan residents did.
The highlight of the laboratory were the 3 days of Silence, in which it was prohibited to use the Internet and to talk. Therefore, it was important to agree on everything in advance, to prepare the necessary materials to create. A clear schedule was formed, introductory lectures were held (where necessary) and text instructions were offered for the participants. All this contributed to comfortable creativity even without the possibility to talk. The result of the Laboratory was framed as an exhibition.
Silence helps to listen to oneself. The silence in terms of consuming less information and the literal silence - the absence of noise. It is especially valuable that the Silence Lab took place in a small quiet town in a mountain gorge in Tumanyan. About 40 participants took part in the Laboratory. For 5 days they moved around 7 workshops in the spaces of Abastan. About 30 people from different cities came to Abastan to take part in the Lab, as well as some Abastan residents did.
The highlight of the laboratory were the 3 days of Silence, in which it was prohibited to use the Internet and to talk. Therefore, it was important to agree on everything in advance, to prepare the necessary materials to create. A clear schedule was formed, introductory lectures were held (where necessary) and text instructions were offered for the participants. All this contributed to comfortable creativity even without the possibility to talk. The result of the Laboratory was framed as an exhibition.
Silence Lab Workshops:
- Animation workshop
- Print Lab
- Textile workshop
- Silence Learning Theater
- Thing Lab
- Mobile animation, real-time editing
- Ceramics, free molding
Ceramics.
Free molding
Free molding
The workshop was supervised by Lisa. She is an experienced educator and artist with an eco-activist background. It was proposed to feel liberation by creating from tactility and emotions! In the schedule, the final practice was "group modeling of sculptures." For the exhibition, the authors wrote a text about how they sculpted their work and what they thought about.
Mobile Animation
The workshop was led by Lesha, who has extensive experience in this area. All participants were asked to make stop-motion videos (or just videos). By each evening time, the created videos as well as the collected sounds were brought to Lesha. He combined everything into a silent movie, which was shown from the projector. So the participants found out how each day went and practiced the animation techniques. One such project captured 401 dishes of the Laboratory participants.
Print Lab
The printing workshop was run by Sasha, Dasha and Ilya. It was proposed to try different ways of printing, to make a print carved in an eggplant, on an eraser, or to make a real linguette! Among the printing materials were paper, fabrics. Oil, acrylic and gouache were used as dyes. The Lab hosts inspired for finding and imprinting artifacts - objects, plants, stones and much more.
Finished works were hung to dry and created an incredibly beautiful inspiring atmosphere.
The workshop was very popular!
Fabrics
The installation of archival fabrics made on the occasion of the exhibition of the Laboratory of Silence deserves a special attention. The building of the former school and weaving factory was transformed into a creative space during the Silence Lab. The installation perfectly reflected this idea!
The installation of archival fabrics made on the occasion of the exhibition of the Laboratory of Silence deserves a special attention. The building of the former school and weaving factory was transformed into a creative space during the Silence Lab. The installation perfectly reflected this idea!
Textile workshop
The hosts of the workshop, Anya, Masha and Liza are artists dealing with fabric, but each with their own individual approach. The workshop offered interaction with materials and tools (fabrics, thread, needles, sewing machine, accessories, glue, etc.). It was possible to make a fabric collage, and then sew it onto a "general canvas", or immediately sew pieces of fabric there. Another activity was the clothing customization. Participants brought their own clothes and sewed pieces of fabric and beads onto it. In addition, you had an opportunity to take the fabric with print on it from the printing laboratory and apply it here!
As a result of the Silence Lab, an exhibition was made by the participants! It is the first creative event of such a scale in Abastan. The exhibition space was a two-story hangar with its own separate entrance from the street. Residents of Tumanyan were also invited to the exhibition. The exposition became the scenery for the Tumanyan International Storytelling Festival and was available for visiting for another month.
All photo and video materials belong to their owners and are used for demonstration purposes only. Please do not use them in commercial projects.
