Hey worlds and worldbuilders! It’s your friendly neighborhood mechanicians Izzy and Anita reporting back from the oh so fruitful and enlightening field, that was Radical World Building 2019! So many awesome things happened! Such an amazing group of humans! The room was filled with performance artists, gamemakers, storytellers, activists, public defenders, and students of art, and religion. Some did not consider themselves to be “radical” at the start of the weekend, but by the end they expressed a shift in this self-perception. So cool!
This year a participant asked that we lay down in the middle of the street while each reciting a piece of their original manifesto as they watched for cars. There was danger in the unfolding equalled only by the pleasure in collectively breaking the rules to share their vision of the world. We engaged in the simple yet immensely full act of running up and down the block, between a cosmic “turtle” on a car, yelling that we were all doomed, and a hopeful tree spirit screaming at us to Save Ourselves! We witnessed the birth of worlds, and saw them collide into one another with laughter and tears, dancing and deep meaningful looks. Participants transformed the already existing structure of the stairwell into a survival assembly line, a train, forest, classroom; with nothing but their bodies and words.
We mechanicians believe that how one perceives oneself is not a barrier to engaging in work that is radical. Learning how to perceive and check in with oneself is an essential step in figuring out what you stand for, what you want to make. This workshop invites all participants do that work with curiosity and compassion, while transforming it into art and action.
The workshop began with exercises in this perception of self and then zoomed out to group prompts focusing on metaculture. Make an invisible thing visible. Make an action. Identify and inhabit systems. Make a manifesto. Go find something that transforms behavior, then transform it. Share an object of personal value. Make a moving model of a world that reflects your collective values.
We were struck by the monumental impact of simple actions. As well as by the generous and brilliant energy brought by the participants. We saw parallels to the geopolitical landscape both present and historical that gave pause for reflection. There was space to honor ancestry and memory. We exercised in directionality, and intentionality. The room was filled with laughter, solemnity, upheaval, change, curiosity, and vulnerability. We discussed how to apply this work to political movement and organizing work, while asking where else it could go? The streets, perhaps?
We were guided to the dark depths of the basement to look for fear, and be initiated into a world of silence and movement. We were asked to bless the space with our eyes and ears, making accidental music out of love. We ventured to the bathroom, and forgotten hallways, we were asked to sit with all our feet and shoulders touching in a circle; in these spaces we heard such wise words as “poop is visionary/ the world is a pale pale green thing/ i believe in tiger grief/ slow down save the daisies save yourselves…”and so much more.
We acknowledge as facilitators and humans that the dominant culture we all exist in is brutally unforgiving of mistakes, and “imperfection”; it is a culture that values “efficiency” over efficacy, product over process, profit over people. That being said, we made it a goal of this workshop to empower every participant to be fearlessly curious about themselves, to take risks, to be “wrong”, and to have fun. We sat in a circle of friends and strangers, and created what was in essence, a new social contract that contained values such as “consent, assuming good faith, recognizing intent while attending to impact, active listening, hold on tightly, let go lightly, always ask for help, permission to pass, all creations are valuable”. That alone was an exercise in world-building, in imagining ourselves out of a culture based on individualism, competition and exclusion; and into a culture that is communal, collaborative and inclusive. The workshop concluded with reflective conversation where participants expressed feelings of relief, release, joy, freedom of creation and ignited curiosity about the interplay of art and political action.
Looking back on this workshop as facilitators and witnesses we’ve been ruminating on a thought that we would like to leave you with. Every person is a world, and is constantly making new ones. The matter is whether or not we are aware of the worlds we carry and stand for. And that awareness can really make all the difference. All worlds are all in relationship with each other, connected by invisible roots, all the time. Art and community are the sunshine and rain that feeds and cleanses the soil that nourishes these roots. That which we attend to grows; whether it is a utopia, or as it may be, a dystopia.
It is a gift to attend to one another, to attend to oneself and be attended to. It is a gift to share and experience with our ever growing community. Thank you for mingling your roots with us, and for sharing your worlds. We look forward to expanding our connections and traveling to more worlds with you soon.