Partners in a Trading Zone – Development of a trading zone between ethnology and computer science in the context of embroidery

The project focused on exploring a connection between the disciplines of ethnology and computer science, which were initially assumed to be distinct. To this end, an interdisciplinary team comprising programmers, hand embroiderers and researchers from UZH and PHZH met for internal workshops. Their primary aim was to develop a mutual understanding of the perspectives within each discipline. In the process, some were actively introduced to hand embroidery, whilst others were introduced to programming. Through an ongoing process of negotiation, a shared vocabulary was developed that enabled the similarities and differences to be articulated. Weekly “Check-ins” served to document the progress and shared understanding. This resulted in a ‘curve of understanding’ spanning the entire duration of the project. This is available interactively on the website sticken-programmieren.ch, but was also realised as hand embroidery. In collaborative, and at times competitive, embroidery projects in which hand and machine embroidery merged, the advantages and disadvantages of the two embroidery modes were revealed. It became apparent that the grid underlies both embroidery modes and is relevant in their respective interpretations within both disciplines. The project was contrasted with non-grid-based embroidery (example: embroidery by Bedouins) to deepen the understanding of the grid and how it functions.

The project developed an approach to enable disciplines whose connection to digital technology is not immediately apparent to contribute to the ongoing digital transformation process. Whilst in computer science and programming the focus is often on the product, in ethnology and hand embroidery it is on the creation, the process and manual skill. By involving school classes and developing teaching formats, the results can be incorporated into society both as prototypes and in a tangible form. Furthermore, the project developed a format for transdisciplinary collaboration driven and guided by efficient internal and external communication.