Crafted Liberation is a collective action, transforming unwanted headscarves donated by Iranian women into stadium seats, as a statement for women empowerment. Created by RK Collective, the project reimagines these discarded textiles as stadium seats, challenging systems of exclusion and reclaiming public spaces through material storytelling.
Each seat is made from a unique composite of donated scarves (waste textile) and waste plastic, developed through circular material innovation. The objects honour the 516 Iranian women globally, who anonymously contributed their scarves, embedding their stories into tangible, functional forms. In Iran, women have been banned from stadiums for decades. By turning headscarves into stadium seats, Crafted Liberation subverts a symbol of oppression into one of presence, visibility, and defiance.
Rooted in the Women, Life, Freedom movement, the project calls on the global design community to imagine new roles for design, where storytelling, sustainability, and collective action meet. This is not just an exhibition; it’s a growing archive of resistance and resilience.
