翔凤文化节

Atlas in conversation with Linchao Jun (consultant for London International Brand Award)

DOUSA

DOUSA(斗萨) is the pronunciation of the word “woman” in the spoken Dong language. DOUSA textile studio was launched by the joint efforts of women from the Dali village (Guizhou), ATLAS Studio and Global Heritage Fund. By sharing resources, design and profits, it supports entrepreneurship of women from the Dong ethnic group, the transmission and cultivation of the Dong textile intangible culture.

In China, dramatic urbanization in the past 30 years resulted in a massive shift of economic development to individual centers. The “local” in its physical sense has disappeared, and individuals, cultures, and industries, connected to it, have faced severe challenges. The province of Guizhou has kept pace with mainland China, mainly focusing on public facilities, tourism development, and urban investment. The region has faced the challenges of a developed economy, i.e. the obliteration of the ancient environment and the waning of traditional culture due to the change of generations. What is more important, the encroachment of modern economies of scale led to the eradication of community autonomy, national cultures, ethnic identity, and small-scale business, built up by previous generations.

In 2015, thanks to the support of World Heritage Fund, ATLAS established a social enterprise DOUSA TEXTILE in Dali, an ancient village in Qiandongnan (Miao and Dong autonomous region), Guizhou. With the traditional fabric craft of the Dong ethnic group as its foundation, the enterprise develops and cultivates local female textile crafts. In the village, in line with local construction traditions, the studio has built Dali Centre, a community cultural center, and a boutique hotel Dongtianjingshang – a contemporary space designed with commercial awareness.  

The Dong fabric craft is not only about fabric, it symbolizes a whole lifestyle. Weaving requires close cooperation of the villagers; people have to work day and night to maintain the manufacturing procedure. The whole process resembles an agreement between nature and people; as if a secret power of the universe helped people extract indigo dye from a bucket of ordinary leaves. It is passed on from generation to generation through a woven belt, a present of a mother to her daughter or to a newborn, or a piece of embroidery. The passage of time is measured by the weaving process, every season for a particular manufacturing phase a certain amount of time is required. This is why the production of fabric requires many years of planning, efforts and patience.

The DOUSA women’s cooperative was created with the intention to help local women who possess diverse weaving techniques overcome geographical limits and learn to appreciate the value of their skills. It also aims to help the Dali women establish the internal way of cooperating, explore clean energy, its developments and application possibilities, thus embarking on a course of sustainable development. The skills of women include hand-weaving, natural dyeing, sewing and embroidery. However, the long-term lack of communication with the outside world, makes it challenging for traditional art to match the needs of contemporary people. In the beginning, the studio took the Dali Stripe fabric, produced with traditional hand-weaving and natural-dyeing techniques, as the foundation, and made simple pillow designs. In addition, the studio launched a series of workshops on contemporary design, tailored to match the women’s skills. In this way, the designers and the Dong women have established a low-cost sustainable working mode.

In 2016, the studio presented throw pillows produced together with the Dong women at Beijing Design Week and invited two women to attend the exhibition; there they saw the success of the fabric produced with their own hands with the public. The exhibition demonstrated their achievements and encouraged them to continue developing the project.

In total, seventeen women joined the cooperative, some of whom are returned migrant workers. The creative genes of the Dali women helped them quickly adapt to a contemporary design collaboration. As the result of the second phase, “Open Source”, pillows and baby blankets with collages created by the Dong women, were produced. This series of products was marked by an award by Guizhou Intangible Culture Selection, once again affirming the value of the Dong women’s skills. 

To secure long-term development of the cooperative, it is necessary to create more opportunities for Dong women. Only through better skills and consumer demand, accumulated through practice, it is possible to attract the Dong people, the creator and carrier of the Dong culture, to stay in Dali. Thanks to many efforts, ATLAS has brought the products of the Dali women to Shanghai, Beijing, Berlin, and other cities, promoting them through exhibitions and retail sales. We hope to give more space for development to the Dali women and create a wider context for the modernization and dissemination of Dong culture, building emotional connections between people. In the third phase, ATLAS is helping the women’s cooperative to enter the ecologically-conscious business environment and cooperate with big companies, to develop further the women’s skills and team spirit, and through this gain autonomy for the community.

ATLAS

ATLAS was founded by Ahti Westphal, Jenny Chou, and Catherine McMahon in 2015 in Beijing. The team includes an architect, a spatial designer, a textile product designer, a researcher and other specialists. In its work, the studio mediates such notions as space, materials, strategy, culture, and research. The studio considers design an instrument of active participation, analyses place, space, material, history, and culture from a range of perspectives, to obtain an unexpectant form, unusual details, overlooked materials and techniques. To catch the trace of time the studio has chosen a process-oriented method; uses an experimental approach and an accurate design language to pursue a dynamic balance between contemporary technology and traditional craftsmanship. A rich practical experience and diverse academic background enable the team to successfully solve conflicts in the crosscultural context and facilitate cooperation.

The studio has won numerous awards including being put on Architectural Digest’s China 100 list, best food and leisure space by Elle Décor, best brand space by Design Award 360°. ATLAS has shown work both in China and internationally, including at Venice Biennale of Architecture, International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam, Shanghai Art & Design Biennale, Design Shanghai, and Beijing Design week. They have also been written about and published internationally in publications such as The New York Times, CNN, Icon, Demo, Wallpaper, Architectural Digest, and Elle Decor, amongst others. 

Linchao Jun

Linchao Jun is an advertising expert working in China mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, a consultant for London International Brand Award in Asian-Pacific region. Previously, Linchao Jun held the positions of Deputy General Manager of the Development Centre of Taiwan-based Wowprime Corp, Chief Operating Officer of Ogilvy Public Relations Fujian, Director of Marketing at the Ogawa Smart Healthcare Technology Group Co Ltd. Hong Kong.