Exhibition opens window on Icelandic sewing clubs

An exhibition exploring Icelandic sewing clubs has opened at the Iceland Design Museum, mbl.is reports. Saumó is part of the museum’s Heimsókn exhibition series and allows visitors to feel like a fly on the wall in several clubs across Iceland.

Katla Einarsdóttir, who is studying for a master’s degree in design in Rotterdam, created the exhibition. She previously studied graphic design at the Iceland University of the Arts.

“I have always been interested in craft in a design context and in popular culture as a method of creation,” Einarsdóttir said. She describes sewing clubs as small design groups that operate inside people’s homes.

The exhibition is part of a project Einarsdóttir is completing during her studies. It is being presented within the exhibition Hönnunarsafnið sem heimili, or The Design Museum as a Home, because sewing clubs are closely connected to domestic spaces.

Saumó combines photographs, objects, handicrafts, captions and audio clips recorded in the clubs. Einarsdóttir said the clubs are usually private spaces where gossip and conversation take place, and where people can feel safe. Listening to the recordings allows visitors to experience them as an unseen observer.

Five Icelandic sewing clubs were selected for the project. Prjónó at Raggý consists of women aged between 82 and 84. Its exhibition caption reads: “There is no man wandering around.”

The women say they meet at Raggý’s home because no man is there to get in the way. Most of the members have husbands who are often at home because they are retired. Knitting is a requirement for joining Prjónó, while being entertaining and funny is considered an advantage.

Einarsdóttir also visited Rúsínurnar, a sewing club for 11 year old girls, and its sister club Vínberin, made up of nine year old girls. Their activities range from making objects from modelling dough to crocheting figures.

Rúsínurnar always eat chocolate covered raisins at their meetings. Vínberin make jewellery, bead objects and figures from modelling dough.

The younger girls said it was important to have a break from boys, although they also talk about boys a lot. Einarsdóttir said the same need for a female space appeared in both the girls’ clubs and the older women’s club, regardless of whether the members were nine or 83.

Saumó was scheduled to open during Garðabær’s 50th anniversary celebrations over the weekend. Einarsdóttir is still developing the research question for her master’s project, which will focus on some form of women’s craft and possibly sewing clubs.