Heiligdomsvaart 2025

FASHIONCLASH Pop-up Atelier

The FASHIONCLASH Pop-Up Atelier is an interactive and temporary workshop for young adults & teenagers (8 - 30 years) located on the third floor of Centre Céramique in Maastricht. The Pop-Up Atelier's activity program consists of creative workshops focusing on different aspects of fashion - from making fashion to raising awareness about fashion in relation to social issues. The FASHIONCLASH Pop-Up Atelier opened during Museumnacht Maastricht on Friday 11 April.

Visitors were invited to join various workshops and work together on upcycled outfits and textile objects for the ‘Ommegangen’ (Procession) of Heiligdomsvaart 2025 (Pilgrimage of the Relics).

Heiligdomsvaart 2025

Since medieval times, thousands of pilgrims have gathered every seven years in Maastricht for the Heiligdomsvaart, one of the oldest religious traditions in The Netherlands in which holy relics of Sint Servaas (Saint Servatius) were displayed. In 2025, this cultural tradition continued with two ‘Ommegangen’: a traditional procession through the city on Sunday 15 June and, for the first time in history, on the river Maas on Sunday evening 22 June.

‘Mensen dragen Mensen’

Together with theatre maker Noah Janssen, FASHIONCLASH has created a contemporary approach to this centuries-old tradition. 'Mensen dragen Mensen' connects the concept of a traditional religious procession with contemporary themes such as community spirit and caring for each other and our environment.

This project is more than a performance during the Ommegang; it is a living artwork that serves as an artistic and social experiment.

The workshops

The Pop-up Atelier opened during Museumnacht Maastricht on Friday, 11 April 2025, and hosted various creative workshops from Tuesday, 22 April until Saturday, 7 June 2025. The workshops were primarily designed for children, teenagers, and young adults (ages 8–24), but enthusiastic participants outside this age range were also welcome. Workshop hosts Becky and Wievien, among others, were there to guide the participants.

Workshop I: Upcycling outfits

We needed 100 blue outfits for the participants of the ‘Ommegang’! In this workshop, second-hand clothes and textiles were upcycled using techniques such as knotting, wrapping, taping, and more to maintain the quality of the garments. Damaged items were repaired using mending techniques like embroidery and patch-making.

Workshop dates: Tuesday 22 April, 15:00 – 19:30; Saturday 3 May, 11:00 – 16:30; Saturday 10 May, 11:00 – 16:30; Tuesday 13 May, 15:00 – 19:30; Tuesday 20 May, 15:00 – 19:30; Tuesday 3 June, 15:00 – 19:30 (VOL/FULL); Saturday 7 June, 11:00 – 16:30

Workshop II: Wearable objects

In this workshop, participants created blue, wearable objects from discarded clothes and textiles for the participants of the ‘Ommegang’. They upcycled textile objects such as bags, backpacks, hats, and scarves. Creativity flowed freely – the objects were expressive and theatrical!

Workshop dates: Thursday 24 April, 11:00 – 16:30; Tuesday 29 April, 15:00 – 19:30; Sunday 18 May, 11:00 –16:30; Saturday 24 May, 11:00 – 16:30; Tuesday 27 May, 15:00 – 19:30

Workshop III: Flags & banners

Participants created blue flags and banners from textile scraps to be carried during the ‘Ommegang’. The flags and banners complemented the participants’ outfits and often featured texts or quotes.

Workshop dates: Friday 11 April* (Museumnacht Maastricht), 20:00 – 00:00; Sunday 27 April, 11:00 – 16:30; Tuesday 6 May, 15:00 – 19:30; Sunday 25 May, 11:00 – 16:30 

Exhibition

A selection of workshop creations will be exhibited at Centre Céramique during FASHIONCLASH Festival from 14-16 November 2025 in Maastricht.

Questions?

Please get in touch via workshop@fashionclash.nl if you have any specific questions about the workshops in the FASHIONCLASH Pop-up Atelier for Heiligdomsvaart Maastricht 2025.

The Pop-up Atelier is an initiative of FASHIONCLASH in collaboration with Centre Céramique and is made possible by Creative Industries Fund NL, Gemeente Maastricht, Provincie Limburg, Cultuurfonds Limburg (van der Jagt Zwolsman Fonds, Par Terra Fonds), Heiligdomsvaart 2025, Rd4 Reinigingsdiensten and Cultuurmakers Maastricht.