Promoting sustainable art and design

Sarah Elhosary , Tuesday 14 Jan 2025

Training courses and workshops highlighting recycled materials as a sustainable and cost-effective choice for artists and designers are becoming more and more popular in Cairo, writes Sarah Elhosary

Sustainable art and design
Sustainable art and design

 

The emphasis on recycling and sustainability has long inspired environmentally conscious creators. However, it is now more essential than ever for the younger generation to tackle resource shortages and increasing material costs. 

As a result, many young designers and artists in Egypt and elsewhere have adopted sustainability and recycling to produce innovative creations that serve the environment and help to lay the foundation for a green economy.

“Designing garments with fabric remnants is significantly distinct from working with traditional fabric rolls. It’s a complex creative process that necessitates innovative problem-solving and out-of-the-box designs,” said Basma Tawakol, founder of the Dayra platform that sells upcycled clothing items by environmentally conscious and emerging fashion designers.

“We have encouraged and trained aspiring designers and artists to create sustainable designs that respect the environment and contribute to preserving our resources for future generations,” she said.

“We have designed out courses to train talented students to master design and gain experience. We also worked with the Egyptian Clothing Bank to collect fabric remnants, which were then sent to trainees for recycling into sustainable garments and accessories.”

Young designers aged between 18 to 42 were giving training in the platform’s “From Fabric” programme, Tawakol said, in which qualified designers and tailors taught the trainees how to utilise fabric remnants to create sustainable fashion creations. 

“We aimed to provide successful examples for our community by transforming unused fabric and worn-out clothing into beautiful pieces, accessories, and garments to benefit others,” she stated.

“In the first year of the programme, we trained approximately 50 fashion designers over nine months using a grant from the Egyptian Clothing Bank. The participants graduated and created fashion pieces, which we later marketed and showcased at the Zero Festival that we arranged. Each designer presented approximately ten pieces, including clothing, accessories, and art, all crafted from fabric scraps and remnants.”

“During the event, and in collaboration with the Cairo Vintage Market and the Ministry of Culture, we increased awareness about sustainability, emphasised the reduction of consumption and waste, and urged visitors to purchase sustainable products,” she added, saying that the idea was to encourage people to shop only when required and to avoid fast fashion labels that encourage excessive consumption.

The festival hosted workshops that taught visitors how to reuse clothing. Participants learned to paint on stained clothes, embroider ripped garments, and turn torn jeans into purses instead of throwing them away.

“We also held sessions tackling the environmental problems caused by waste, especially from single-use plastic bags,” Tawakol added. Participants were educated in transforming single-use plastic bags into sustainable wallets and purses, thereby reducing environmental impacts.

According to Mariam Sameh, one of the participants, the one-day workshops helped attendees to transform household waste and remnants into useful items. “The participants learned through eight workshops how to recycle discarded items, using the techniques of the 20 exhibitors who showcased upcycled products made from paper, metal, fabric, wood, glass, and other materials as examples. The exhibitors had incorporated these materials into diverse products, including clothing, accessories, and home decor,” Sameh said.

“The displayed pieces ranged from design to art and featured works by 10 artists, including sculptures and paintings made from recycled materials. The festival also offered lectures to raise awareness about sustainability and the role of sustainable brands in shaping a greener future,” she added.

Among the recycled designs were innovative pieces made of wood by exhibitor Nadine Helmi, who started by repurposing wood from a fallen tree in her garden. 

“When a tree in my garden fell, I did not want to discard it. I wanted to give it a new life in another form. I decided to recycle its wood into home decor and furniture. Although I had no experience working with wood, I approached it step by step, seeking help to cut the tree and unleashing my imagination to design pieces like stools and other things,” she explained.

The experience inspired Helmi to repurpose wood from trees cut down during urban development projects. “I used to spend hours waiting for workers to trim the trees so I could express an interest in purchasing the wood. Later, I learned about auctions where logs were sold and began to buy them to recycle the wood into sustainable products,” she added.

“Working on the first tree taught me a lot about wood and how to handle different types. Over the years, I have learned to identify softwood, suitable for curved designs, and hardwood, ideal for furniture. I have discovered which types absorb more oil and which are easier to work with.”

Helmi said that over the seven years she has been working, she has used the wood from some 200 trees to make furniture. “I wanted to go beyond the usual by combining wood remnants with other materials, such as metal scraps and plastics, to create artistic designs that promote sustainability,” she commented.

 “I established a series called the Reviving Earth Collection that features characters and animal shapes fashioned from waste wood in my workshop, as well as broken utensils, old toys, buttons, and other household waste.”

Helmi was recognised for her work in sustainability and was chosen to design the sustainable products booth at the UN COP27 Climate Change Conference held in Sharm El-Sheikh in 2022.

“We created the booth using wood and bamboo rescued from the Nile. I have also showcased my designs at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, creating sustainable souvenirs such as wooden accessories shaped like the Eye of Horus, a noughts and crosses game, and pharaonic-inspired accessories,” she noted.

Helmi also used recycled wood remnants to reintroduce the ancient Egyptian game Semit, the world’s first board game, to modern audiences using sustainable designs.


* A version of this article appears in print in the 16 January, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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