Remake, 2018

May – June, 2018
Heritage Space,
Hà Nội, Vietnam

Swap, 2018

January – March, 2019
Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture,
California Lutheran University
Thousand Oaks, California

My conversations with my mom about her experiences working in the garment industry made me realize the importance of creating safe spaces for workers to share stories.

In Hà Nội, fashion designer Phạm Hồng and I organized a craftivism project titled Remake. We fashioned a ‘factory’ in the Heritage Space gallery mimicking Vietnamese sweatshops that contractors often locate in residential homes.

Then we employed social media to invite Hà Nội garment and apparel industry workers to collaborate with us.

As we created new clothes from recycled ones, we discussed working conditions and how this impacted their lives, as well as personal strategies for change.

Garment Girl, 2019 Clothing Swap from Jennifer Vanderpool on Vimeo.
At the Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture at California Lutheran University, the outreach component included a community swap, after which I donated the remaining clothes to a non-profit that assists teenagers in foster care.