Documentation of Open Circle Arts production of ‘Buy Me’ as part of The Consuming Project during the summer of 2017

“A participatory creative project understanding our current relationship with fashion.

Open Circle Arts are excited to be collaborating with Theatre Maker Ita Morrissey this year on The Consuming Project – a project that looks at our relationship with fashion and its true cost.

Every year around 80 billion garments are produced worldwide. Our global society is consuming more than ever before, but where is it all going? What do we know about how, where and who made our clothes. What is happening to last season’s trends?

With third world countries beginning to refuse more garment waste from the Western world, we need to address how we are going to deal with the abundance of clothing waste in this country. This is an urgent matter and The Consuming Project will bring these topics and concerns to a local level, we will begin to investigate our relationship to clothing and what measures we can take to alleviate the heavy burden of the clothing industry.

The Consuming Project is a creative community collaboration that explores societies relationship with fashion and will culminate in a site-specific theatre presentation and installation of textile work in June 2017. This explorative project began with the support of the Arts Council’s Art Participation bursary granted to theatre maker Ita Morrissey and has grown with collaborations with Open Circle, textile artist Dee Harte, creative producer Eadaoin Walsh (Rig Out Productions), MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre, local artists and community members. A innovative process for both artists and participants, The Consuming Project has invited professional actors and community members in the making of this work. The set is being created out of waste fashion and reimagined while workshops provide opportunities to examine how, why, where and who makes our clothes. The project aims to provide a positive social experience that presents questions and conscious choices around fashion.”

– opencirclearts.ie