How can we foster democratic conversation in times of online radicalisation, polarisation, and shrinking public discourse?



This question lies at the heart of Threadquarters, a participatory artistic research project by Katharina Spitz, an Amsterdam-based textile artist and designer exploring inequality, identity, and embodied memory through feminist and material-oriented approaches, and the Berlin-based artivism duo Threads & Tits, working at the intersection of design research, activism, textile mediation, and education, with a focus on online radicalisation dynamics and democratic engagement. Together, they translate digital realities into tangible, analogue encounters that encourage reflection, dialogue, and critical thinking.

In collaborative workshops, participants engage in hands-on textile practices—such as embroidery, weaving, and appliqué—to respond to specific online content, including memes, slogans, symbols, or viral trends. By turning digital phenomena into material objects, the project generates a physical, collective commentary on digital culture, inviting participants to reflect on how online content can fuel radicalisation and polarisation while fostering democratic dialogue, critical awareness, and embodied creative engagement.




Katharina Spitz (NL) (spitzkatha@gmail.com, IG @kathakathak)

Threads&Tits (GER) (threadsandtits@gmail.com, IG @threadsandtits)
















Threadquarters is a collaborative project initiated by textile artist and designer Katharina Spitz and the transformation design duo Threads and Tits. 




THE INITIATORS



THREADS & TITS

@threadsandtits


Threads & Tits are a Berlin-based artivism and transformation design duo working at the intersection of design research, activism, textile mediation, and education. 

Since 2022, they have developed participatory projects, exhibitions, and campaigns exploring social-ecological transformation, democratic engagement, and online culture. Combining hands-on creative work, research-driven methods, and lived activist experience, they empower participants and foster collective reflection. 

Threads & Tits have collaborated with artists and institutions such as The Yes Men, Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, and ACC Weimar, and regularly lead workshops, lectures, and action-oriented formats at universities, conferences, and cultural spaces.      



Katharina Spitz is an Amsterdam-based textile artist and designer with a background in couture tailoring, fashion, and performance. Her work explores inequality, estrangement, and identity through a feminist, material-oriented lens. 


Collaborations with poet Manka Menga and musician Marlena Käthe have produced tactile installations engaging with femininity, colonial legacies, and embodied memory. 


Her work has been exhibited at among others Textielmuseum, MK&G Hamburg, Fashionclash Festival, Marres, and Bureau Europa.



THE COLLABORATORS

Threadquarters is a project that bundles expertise from different fields of expertise. Our collaborators range from artists, social designers, cultural institutions and researchers. Here you meet the collaborators:

LEONORE SNOEK (NL)

Social Designer, Municipality of Amsterdam
Advisor, Researcher and Expert into safety of young people in digital environments.

LEXI SUN (CHN)

Artist and PhotographerDramaturgy and visualisation regarding figital dimensons of Threadquarters. 

CASPAR WEIMANN (DE)

Initiator of onlinetheater.liveAdvisor and Expert on right-wing and anti-feminist online radicalization, radicalization synergies
and critique of masculinity



FUNDED BY
Afgehaakt Nederland Project Grant
Fresh Perspectives Start Grant





 
This section documents past workshops, pop-up sessions, and exhibitions in museums and cultural spaces, offering a window into how participants engage with digital culture through hands-on textile practices.




IMPRESSIONS PROCESS WORKSHOP METHOD                  








Welcome to the Threadquarters Knowledge Base – a curated space for ressources, insights, and creative tools that support critical engagement, digital literacy, and democratic participation online. 



Here you can browse, read, learn and get inspired about digital literacy and democratic tools and textile crafting as a medium of resistance. 


Feel free to reach out if you have ressources, articles, institutions or projects we should list here. 


++COMING SOON+++COMING SOON+++COMING SOON++++



Fashion and Right-Wing Ideology



De-Coding Symbols in digital environments



...