MANIFESTO
PLĀS is a symbiotic, nomadic collective and creative studio.
It is a buzzing ecosystem of artists, crafters, and designers interacting and exchanging ideas with one another. It acts both as a superorganism formed by creatives growing and acting in concert, and as the shared environment that nurtures and supports them.
At the heart of PLĀS are two entwined core values: transparency, in how the collective and the production process are managed, and credibility, in the artistic scene and in the relationship with all its acting parts. PLĀS is a response to the current climate of mercification of arts and culture, which prioritizes the logic of profit devoiding the creative process of ethics and genuinity.
We foster cultural innovation across disciplines and national borders, creating an inclusive platform for young artists to use their voice in an uncompromised and self-empowering way, their individual identity being reverberated and amplified across and beyond the collective.
Our creatives are called upon to participate in an interconnected system of works around a theme, influencing and interacting with one another. The abstraction of an idea or value is therefore translated into concrete form: we develop limited-edition collections of objects that are co-created with the participating artists in three phases.
The first is ESSENZIA, a preliminary step which PLAS’ studio carries out in-house, as a premise to the collaboration with the artists. The theme is examined and expressed through the lens of fashion, materializing in the form of a limited-edition and seasonless clothing collection. Each of the hand-numbered garments encapsules a plurality of parallel or divergent intents and identities: those of PLĀS, the artist, and the wearer.
The second is PLĀS+, the development and realization of a set of collectibles of various natures, co-created with our artists. The experimental contamination between arts and perspectives sees materials like yarn, clay, paint, and stone manipulated into an infinite variety of objects, from sculptures to stoneware, furniture, and prints.
The third is SPAZI(o): a space is made available to the collective for a further immersive exploration of the theme in the form of an art installation. The experiment becomes a shared experience within the PLĀS community and with the public.
To minimize our environmental impact, we source materials that can be repurposed or that would otherwise be discarded, such as deadstock fabric and recycled yarn. We highlight the artesanal quality of the resulting objects and showcase national talents and traditions with an entirely Made in Italy chain of supply and production.
The seasonless, hand-numbered pieces are then made available on our platform until they are all sold out.
With each edition we develop a progressively expanding constellation of individual systems of works, where all elements are in dialogue with one another, across time and space.
Every year, PLĀS moves to a new country, extending its roots and branches into a network of collaborations with the local community of emerging artists, designers and artisans.
In 2022, PLĀS has chosen to settle in Italy.
