Warsaw welcomes scarf aces
Thursday, June 14, 2012
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Fans are being encouraged to bring even more colour to the streets of the capital with the 'Something More Than A Scarf' project, devised by students from Warsaw's Academy of Fine Arts.
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Fans visiting Poland for UEFA EURO 2012 and locals too are being encouraged to add even more colour to the streets of Warsaw by designing their own scarves, in an initiative devised by students at the Polish capital's Academy of Fine Arts.
Students have been devising their own scarves for nations around the world, with supporters encouraged to join in at a workshop event. "Everyone can express the values that define their lives, their own personal motto, or just make your something other fans will admire," said Bruno Althamer, who helped design the programme. "The technology we have developed is very simple. Thanks to this everyone, even those without artistic skills, can create a scarf. It mainly involves cutting and sewing, which are skills most of us learn in primary school."
The 'Something More Than A Scarf' project is supported by the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. "The idea came over a year ago," explained Althamer. "First we did scarves for ourselves and thought, 'why not give other people a chance to do something similar?'. We want to encourage fans to express themselves and to take more control of the things they say."
"Some people have just use the templates that we have provided, but there are also lots of drawings based on people's own ideas," said Diana Grabowska, who is also working on the project. "We have an excellent confirmation that the human imagination knows no limits. There are lots of smileys and symbols specific to professional groups, and symbols that express personal interests, lovehearts as well as names or initials of couples and so on."
A temporary space on Pańska 3, near the Warsaw fan zone, has been visited even by supporters of fans whose teams are not at the tournament, lured in by the chance to design their own unique souvenir. "After consultation, the scarf is usually made within an hour or two, depending on how complicated it is," added Grabowska. "There are also more complicated orders for which we need up to two weeks. But it is worth it. Football adds colour to the world.”
