Åsa Ståhl

Threads - a mobile sewing circle: making private matters public in temporary assemblies

In this paper we propose temporary assemblies where the sharing of stories and concerns are facilitated. Possible challenges and characteristics of such temporary assemblies will be discussed through the project Threads -- a Mobile Sewing Circle, which is designed in order to support conversations in relation to everyday use of ICT as well as in relation to other means of communication. The participants do not necessarily belong to an already existing community and do not need to reach a consensus. The discussion in this paper will focus on how the design of Threads allows and encourages the participants to bring past lived experiences to the table, as well as how the act of participating in the sewing circle brings out new concerns. Despite the transient character of this assembly we will also look at how the things produced in the sewing circle might support longer-lasting, future conversations.

Becoming response-able stakeholders: participatory design in times of uncertainties

This paper connects with recent movements within participatory design that move beyond democracy at work and into public engagements with matters where stakes and stakeholders are uncertain. This is thus a shift from earlier participatory design projects where identifiable stakeholders were a pre-condition. To enable the becoming of stakes and stakeholders that are response-able, this paper argues for a new design space within participatory design: to enable material participation in yet unarticulated issues connected to socio-material entanglements. This becoming of stakeholder is not necessarily about solving a problem but to sensitize oneself to ones entanglements, response-ability and agency in relation to potential issues. The proposal is discussed through a design experiment centred on co-living and the messy practices of composting plastic waste in domestic settings.

Plastic imaginaries: becoming response-able stakeholders?

This piece in the interactive exhibition shows a prototype of a domestic plastic composting kit. More specifically its a repurposed glass jar with a lid that has been cut open and replaced by a metal net. Inside it common mealworms are biodegrading styrofoam. A democratic design experiment, where similar prototypes were distributed to explore how it is to live with it, will be present in this exhibition through photos. A 30-minute workshop builds on this democratic design experiment and explores the becoming of stakeholders when the actors and issues are multiple and uncertain.