Saturday, November 6 (15.00-18.00)
POST Weverstraat 40, 6811 EM Arnhem

How can we restitch forgotten histories? How could these counter histories be a collective, tangible act of resistance? How can we build and foster revolutionary action through cultural work?Textiles and garments represent tangible records of collective-making and hidden histories that are recorded and imprinted within the human body. Humans have always been in contact with textiles, and it metaphorically serves as a second layer of the skin, connecting the body with the outside world. The passing of textiles generationally archives the memories of those who have worn them, and these hidden histories are made alive through storytelling; through stitching or repairing these textiles. The act of stitching mends the physical form of textiles, it seams these relationships across generations, and speculating alternative futures that have previously been hidden.

Within this textile workshop, anti-imperialist Indonesian organisation Lestari Bergerak will guide you in a discussion about revolutionary cultural histories and commoning resources by looking at the archive of LEKRA (Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakyat), a 1950s Indonesian revolutionary cultural organization. From selected and translated texts written in Harian Rakjat, to LEKRA’s cultural works including the recently restored film Turang by Bachtiar Siagian. Through this, Lestari Bergerak will connect the current condition of Padang Halaban as a way to ground the archives into the current struggle.

During the discussion, you are invited to embroider your textiles on a patchwork banner, filled with screenprints made by Lestari Bergerak. Participants are welcome to bring their own fabric to print or add to the banner, further stitching their part to the resistance. The resulting patchwork banner holds the knowledges and memories of the participants and represents not only the connections that were fostered within the workshop, but also a broader practice of stitching and screenprinting as a publishing practice of solidarity. The banner will be displayed at POST and later will be circulated in future mobilization.
Donations made throughout the workshop will be given to Perwakas (@transpuan_sikka)
here they are distributing aid relief to queer and trans folks in Sikka that were affected by the mass Earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara, and some to Lestari Bergerak.Lestari Bergerak (ID/NL)

A group of anti-imperialist Indonesians and the diaspora in the Netherlands, committed to engaging with our progressive-left history and standing in solidarity with people’s liberation back home and elsewhere. Through intergenerational and international solidarity, we connect the current grassroots movement to the interconnectedness of current Indonesian issues and local issues in the Netherlands. We initiate fundraisers, panels, and educational presentations about the condition of the masses, whilst also organising community gatherings, cultural workshops, and on-site screen-printing.