On a way to Iceland
2014/2015
In 2015, the project Balkan slipper connected Jesenice, Ljubljana, and Reykjavik. It was aimed at women migrants from former Yugoslavian republics – their empowerment, cultural and social integration, integration, and creation with textile handicraft. It was based on the results and findings from the projects Revealed hands, and continued work with the same vulnerable group.
The project started with slippers, which immigrated women carried in the memory of their hands, and were learnt how to make them as girls by their female ancestors. Later, a traditional Balkan slipper experienced design transformations and updates through group researches. With the contact with Icelandic heritage, it also took on its elements. The research part of the project was carried out parallel in Slovenia (under the Oloop group leadership) and in Iceland under the leadership of the designer and lecturer Bryndís G. Björgvinsdóttir from Iceland.