In this workshop, participants explore the practice of washing, as well as its social, cultural, and environmental components. What is the social function of the communal act of washing fabrics by hand? What stories emerge from this practice? Is the ‘safe space’ that some collective practices foster lost through the so-called progressive modernization of everyday life? What rituals, songs, clothing, tools, places, and times frame the culture around washing fabrics?

Participants are invited to discuss and ask questions about community, ecology, material science, and not least of all the gender roles often attributed to house and care work. By sharing experiences and participating in the act of washing fabrics by hand together, the workshop aims to encourage an exchange of knowledge and solidarity among participants of different generations and communities.

A project in cooperation with United Action Women & Girls e.V.