LINEN HARVEST LIVE

Have you ever wanted to witness the linen harvest with your own eyes?

Taking place on an as-yet undetermined date, the Linen Harvest Slow TV experience will be from dawn to dusk. Expect a slower pace of documenting that transports you to the flax fields as you watch the linen harvest as it is happening. There is no editing, commentary or staged filming but the natural happenings of the harvest.

The date of the Slow TV event can only be predicted a few days ahead of the harvest of the flax crop at The Linen Project. Nature defines the harvest and cannot be hurried. We will follow the flax crop during the month of July 2022 to monitor when it is ready to harvest and for the Slow TV event to document the process.

Our partner for this unique Slow TV event is The Linen Project, a hands-on practice-based research environment initiated by the ArtEZ MFA Practice Held in Common and the Crafts Council Nederland.

The Linen Project investigates and works towards reactivating the economic viability of small-scale local flax cultivation and linen production in the Netherlands. Their learning-by-doing approach to all stages of flax and linen production allows for meaningful ways of being and learning for all partners involved. 

Flax is a crop which is traditionally grown in the Netherlands. Historically, the linen of the Lowlands was highly desirable, because it was considered of the best quality in the world. It is a so-called alternating crop: it can be grown once every seven years on the same piece of land, promoting biodiversity and soil regeneration. The Linen Project aims to develop new economic, social and cultural ecosystems to demonstrate the vital importance of biodiversity, the revival of skills and our connection with the processes of production.  

Discussing the Linen Project, the Crafts Council says: “We’re changing the dialogue when it comes to agriculture, history, heritage, (landscape) architecture, fashion, food, craft, design, contemporary art, economics and innovative business operations. Because the world is changing. And we are digitally connected more than ever. But how and where are our roots? How can we reconnect with deep human values and age-old knowledge and skills?”

“A very urgent challenge is upon us: the people within the Netherlands who are able to transfer their knowledge and skills when it comes to growing and processing flax are dying out. We see the importance of involving young people, not just designers, but also young people who choose farming or a life as a craftsperson. The Linen Project activates “old” knowledge, skills and the different meanings associated with flax and linen production. New technologies, new connections and possibilities are applied to this, so that future production is based and builds on a restored connection with people and nature. With this project people with a diversity of backgrounds are collaborating. We no longer define design as just a product, but as one of the processes in a larger set of complementary and reinforcing activities.”

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Find out more about The Linen Project here: www.thelinenproject.online/

Linen Harvest Slow TV is a free event that will live streamed on our website on the Slow TV page.