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The Artwear collective
Story & mission

The ArtWear collective is a Chicago based organization founded by two current and one alumni of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Learning to create in spaces that were predominantly hegemonic institutional systems, making work centered around identity was especially challenging. The collective concluded that there was little space and recognition for LGBTQ artists and artist of color within this framework. This realization rooted the beginning states of ideation for the collective.

The ArtWear Collective will operate as a cooperative to aid minority artists in showcasing their work. This is in order to build representation, establish ownership of identity, and develop a sense of understanding between these individuals and surrounding communities. ArtWear believes representation is imperative in the future of art and fashion. Community outreach is the bridge to solidifying all facets of creative ideas.

founders
lish atchison-roeder
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Lish Atchison-Roeder is a queer, multi-racial, fibers based artist focusing on wearable art and installation. With a background in fashion and fibers + materials, their work handles themes of identity and the fetishization of “other” in contemporary culture.

Their work aims to highlight the tension between the viewer and the displayed, formulating conversation around social space and “otherness”. Their work seeks to voice the underlying conflict of self vs. projected definition through the creation of objects that can always be sculpture, garment, and installation.

Expected BFA The School of The Art Institute of Chicago ‘20

Aliya v Parashar
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Aliya Vinay Parashar is an artist focused within the mediums of fibers + material studies, and fashion design focusing on gender identity and its intersection to post-colonial theory. Aliya strives to strike a balance between celebrating femininity and honoring bodies, while creating a vision of resistance through garments and fiber production.

Her work was recently featured in Posture Magazine (Spring 2018) and had been modeled by friends, artists, and members of her created resistance. She works to create a vision of trans beauty and strength which reclaims luxury as a tool for resistance; in doing so sharing stories of ancestry, trauma, and, resilience. She is currently completing her BFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2019) Chicago, IL, after transferring from Otis College of Art and Design (2015) 2nd year.

BFA Otis College of Art and Design, BFA The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Cj Aslan
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CJ Aslan is a New york born, Jewish Moroccan installation artist, wearables designer, and Creative Director. Aslan works closely with persona, scale, & sound to create visceral & immersive experiences.

Aslan’s work, transforms space into intimate and decorative realities, creating conversation between internal and external surfaces using materials and environment to evoke a multi sensory world.

The School of The Art Institute of Chicago (BFA 18)

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