Artist Workshop (EN)
Ege Kökel
Storied Dye Samples

Please register at: vermittlung@kunsthallewien.at 

Workshop fee: € 25 
Reduced: € 15 

The reduction applies to students, civil and military servants, apprentices and Kunsthalle Wien annual pass holders. This workshop offers a reserved contingent for holders of a ‘Hunger auf Kunst und Kultur’ culture pass.

Natural dyeing is an ancient practice that has been practiced in many different places throughout history. Dyers use materials such as plants, insects and minerals to create pigments to dye textiles. There is a plethora of methods, recipes and approaches. The process and the result depend on numerous factors – such as the interaction between the dye and the fibre, the landscape and the season, the plants used and the water. As is common in textile practices, the colours created through natural dyeing also tell stories, stories of the land, waters, plants, seasons, people, history, climate crisis or extinction.  

In this workshop, we will work with naturally pre-dyed fabric samples made from plants collected along the Danube. We will collaboratively find ways to tune in, imagine and tell stories about these plants and the Danube ecosystem. The colours and fabric samples will serve as inspiration to voice what we believe needs to be heard about the Danube, its riverbed and the plants.  

To create a collective archive, we will apply these stories to the samples using different tactics, through written words, symbols or shapes.  

No previous knowledge is required to attend the workshop. 

Everyone is welcome to bring a small, light-coloured textile piece made of cotton, linen or wool (such as a handkerchief or socks) to dye during the workshop for their own keepsake. 

Ege Kökel

Ege Kökel is a designer and researcher with an interest in land and waterscapes, more-than-human design and textile practices. She grew up in close connection to the Aegean Sea, lived near the Danube for 10 years before moving to the proximity of the Dommel in the Netherlands. She is currently pursuing a PhD in the Department of Industrial Design at Eindhoven University of Technology. In 2019, she received her master’s degree in Industrial Design from the University of Applied Arts Vienna. She is also the co-founder of the art and design collective Danube Transformation Agency for Agency (DTAFA). 

She was awarded the kültüř gemma! fellowship and exhibited her work internationally, including at the Center for Book Arts (New York, USA), Zone2Source (Amsterdam, NL), and Global Grad Show (Dubai, UAE). Her work has been featured in various media platforms such as dezeen, the Brooklyn Rail, DAZED, die Presse and Ö1.