How is the standard created? According to what criteria is it tailored? What can leg length and pocket depth tell us about the world? The Re-form the normproject was created to answer these and many other questions in relation to a seemingly trivial issue – work and protective clothing for women.
fot. Daria Szczygieł
exhibition, European Solidarity Centre winter garden, free admission
from 12/03/2025, until 14/04/2025
opening | March 12, 2025, Wednesday, 6 pm
The starting point for the project was the experiences of former female workers at the Gdansk Shipyard, and its goal was to examine the current situation of women in the maritime industry, stereotypically perceived as male. The art and research team examined what suits, jackets or gloves are meant to serve women in the workplace, and sought answers to the question of what practices should be used to meet the basic needs of female workers.
Speaking of the mismatch between men’s standards and women’s bodies, the project cites the many inequalities manifested in design standards – in the planning of cities, means of transportation, everyday objects. In doing so, it brings the issue of standard and uni-form to discussion . The exhibition will present analyses of gabbages, fashions and their utility, but also conceptual forms of stories about discomfort, risk, dignity.
The outstanding artistic and research team includes four women: Aneta Bursiewicz – clothing designer, Aneta Lehmann – curator and educator, Anna Miler – researcher of women’s history and social activist, and Daria Szczygieł – photographer.
The exhibition will be accompanied by, among other things, the premiere of a publication summarizing the project and a thematic guided tour of the STOCKYARD exhibition at the ECS. Detailed information on individual events will be coming soon.
In the meantime, we invite you to visit the project’s instagram profile to keep track of the next stages of its implementation: instagram.com/re_form.the.norm.
curatorial concept, project coordination | Aneta Lehmann
exhibition design and execution | Aneta Bursiewicz
photographs | Daria Szczygieł
substantive support | Anna Miler
graphic design | Patrycja Mróz
editing and proofreading | Beata Duszyńska
organizers | University of Gdansk, European Solidarity Center
patronage | INSPIRA Association of Women in the maritime industry
The exhibition is realized within the framework of the project “Realising Girls’ and Women’s Inclusion, Representation and Empowerment” (RE-WIRING) funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under Grant Agreement n° 101094497.
Contact:
Curator of the exhibition: Aneta Lehman, +48503545762
Contact UG: Dr. Natasha Kosakowska-Berezecka, Prof. UG +48606760627