New project wants to hear local people's 'repair stories'

A new project aimed at getting more people fixing their repairable possessions and thinking about how they manage waste is being launched this week and wants your “repair stories”.

Repair Acts Ireland is being led by artist and researcher Teresa Dillon and UCD geographer Dr Alma Clavin, in conjunction with Westmeath County Council and the Public Participation Network.

Teresa Dillion says that the year long project “ looks at how we can foster more vibrant repair cultures in the country”.

“What we mean by repair cultures is how we mend, fix, care for and maintain objects. It covers the history, economies, craft, practices and processes of how we mend items, and we are really interested in connecting the past, present and future stories around these topics. We are always, fixing; repairing and maintaining objects is essential, even vital to everyday life. We would love for you to share your story with us about what you repaired and how you did it.”

The project aims to build an archive of everyday objects that people have repaired. Through the project website, www.repairacts.ie, people can upload an image of an object they have repaired (clothing, furniture, farm machinery, toys) and tag it with information about the repair, including their motivations and reason for the repair.

These stories will become part of a contemporary repository of objects that will be exhibited as part of an installation [in Kilbeggan in November].

“We know from EPA data that household waste generation in Ireland increases as personal consumption of goods increases. 40% of all waste collected goes into the black bin for incineration or landfill. Specifically, in Westmeath, from 2018-2020 bulky waste, bicycles, furniture etc, more than doubled and there has been almost a 50% increase in plastics packaging, textiles and general household waste, much of which could be repaired," project lead and artist Dillion said.

“We will be speaking to people about their memories of how we used to fix things. Mapping instances of repair through various archives, we will be creating new maps and cartographies of local repair practice, exploring how people in Westmeath and beyond  used to repair anything from thatching roofs, to tinsmithing, weaving and mending baskets and cloths,” she continued.

The Repair Acts, Ireland team plans to “lead conversations about the role repair can play in society and climate change” and over the year will host a number of storytelling events and workshops.

Focusing on our ‘Right to Repair’, which became part of EU legislation in 2021 the team will be collecting aspirational statements for how to foster more local repair mindsets in towns, villages and neighbourhoods. The group will be crowd-sourcing statements from across Ireland so as to build Ireland’s First Repair Declaration, which will be launching as part International Repair Day on October 15.

In Westmeath the team will be focusing on histories and heritages of the county's repair economies and cultures. Speculating on how we will repair objects in the future, a site-based installation, including new video art works will be exhibited along with other elements of the project in the Westmeath town of Kilbeggan on 3-6th Nov 2022.

“We've all done it. Something breaks, and we don't know how to mend it – so we throw it away. But binning our broken things is harming our environment. Buying things over and over again means we are ramping up carbon emissions, and by sending them to landfill when they break, we are piling up tonnes of unnecessary waste,”says project artist Dillon.

Project researcher Clavin says that the team's archival research has shown that access to repair businesses in towns and villages in Westmeath has decreased and the breadth and diversity of repair business and practices has also decreased.

“Our team examined over 1500 repair businesses and practices that were active since the early twentieth century and we have identified a clear transition from repair being part of everyday life, to something that is only done occasionally. This has implications, not just for the waste that enters landfill and incinerators but also for how people use our towns and villages,” she said.