Make an Ear

Thank you for considering contributing to Use Your Ears.

Use Your Ears is a public art project that uses handmade textile ears as symbols of listening, responsibility, and collective action. The project began as a response to violence against women, but its ambition is larger than awareness alone. It asks a simple question:

What would it look like if we truly listened?

Over the coming months, hundreds of handmade ears have appeared throughout Amsterdam. Some hang from poles, some from fences, and some from railings. Others may never be installed at all. Making an ear can be an act of participation, solidarity, support, remembrance, reflection, or healing. Whatever brings you here, your contribution is welcome.

What kind of ear should I make?

The only real requirement is that it resembles an ear and is made primarily from textile materials.

This could include:

• embroidery

• sewing

• crochet

• knitting

• punch needling

• tufting

• felting

• fabric collage

• beading

Feel free to get creative. Add tattoos, piercings, earrings, textures, patterns, or details that feel meaningful to you.

A few guidelines

• the ear should be recognisable as an ear

• all sizes are welcome

• a hanging loop, string, or wire is encouraged - to remind people that, unlike these, their ears are not ornaments

• skin-tone colours are preferred, reflecting the diversity of human bodies, though occasional departures from this are welcome

• resist perfection: the project values experimentation, participation, and abundance over flawless craftsmanship

Patterns & Resources

You can download ear patterns and making guides below.

[FIND PATTERNS]

If you need materials, have questions, or would like to contribute ears from outside Amsterdam, please get in touch.

andreavdkuil@gmail.com

Stay Connected

To follow the project's progress, installation updates, and ongoing conversations around listening and gender-based violence:

Instagram: @useyour_ears

Thank you for helping fill the world with ears.