This autumn, four new working fellows - selected artists and innovators in textiles and fashion - will be welcomed to Sliperiet and eXpression Umeå. There they will work on artistic exploration, idea and product development in Sliperiet's workshops, and be offered professional coaching in business development. The opportunity has attracted a large number of applicants from all over the world.

With the support of the Hakon Swenson Foundation, the artists, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, are awarded work grants by Sliperiet and advice from eXpression Umeå. The work grant will enable the artists to develop their practice over three months with access to Sliperiet's workshops and technical support to realise ambitious and experimental projects.

- By giving them the opportunity to be supported by our business developers and industry experts at Expression, they also get the chance to test their entrepreneurship, further develop their products and get support in their business, says Marlene Johansson CEO, Expression Umeå.

- The Expression programme is an addition that undoubtedly gives this venture an extra edge. We are delighted to be able to offer this year's fellows the very best in both production environments and business development, and look forward to welcoming this year's group of promising young creators," says Emma Ewadotter, SoftLab's Director of Operations at Sliperiet.

In addition to contacts and collaborations, previous SoftLab Fellowships have generated works and ideas that have attracted considerable attention. For example, the 2017 Fellows Maria Castellanos and Alberto Valverde developed an interactive wearable artwork, Symbiotic Interaction, during their time at Sliperiet. The result has been shown internationally, including an award at the French festival Look Forward Fashion Tech.

2018 SoftLab Fellows

The four recipients of the 2018 Softlab scholarship are: textile artist Clara Sullà from Spain, materials researcher and product designer Austeja Platukyte from Lithuania, Stockholm-based textile artist Nanny Rådenman and fashion designer Catharina Carlsson from Umeå.

Clara Sullà has developed her art practice in Vienna, London and Egypt and increasingly specialises in textile materials. Over the past ten years she has designed and created fire-resistant, waterproof and large-scale "sculptural costumes" for opera and theatre, as well as stage productions with textile artworks. This autumn Clara will produce interactive textile-based tactile panels that can be placed on walls or floors. The focus will be on innovative textures and shapes for new visual and sensory effects.

Austeja Platukyte is a material design researcher and product designer based in Lithuania who has exhibited internationally. She is interested in the practical as well as the social, economic and psychological transformation of materials. In her projects she works experimentally and interdisciplinarily. The objects raise questions about consumption and ecology. She tries to develop new design methods outside the logic of mass production and common ideas of beauty, functionality and universality - with the aim of creating new values for a more sustainable future. During her stay in Umeå, Austeja will develop bioplastics using textile waste as raw material.

Nanny Counsellor is a textile artist educated at Kawashima Textile School in Japan, and now working in Stockholm. Nanny appreciates the seemingly simple expression of a weave or embroidery, which in fact is often built up of a complex thread system. She finds her inspiration in nature and everyday textiles. This autumn, Nanny will develop a connected textile - a fabric that moves as you approach the work.

Catharina Carlsson lives and works in Umeå and has, among other things, worked as a milliner at the Norrlandsoperan. Catharina works experimentally in her hat-making and likes to use unexpected materials and techniques. Several of her creations have won prizes in hat competitions and been published in international fashion press. This autumn Catharina will use digital fabrication techniques to develop a streetwear collection of everyday hats with a surprising twist.