Place. Art. Activism.

Place

Place is complex and multi-dimensional, never one thing at any one time

Place is the land beneath your feet, the flora and fauna around you, the physical landscape; Land is sacred, un-ownable, objective, a collaborator

Place is subjective; contextual; historic and current impacts of colonization and racism are woven throughout;

Place is Internal landscape – in our bodies and in the imagination

Place is dynamic, changing, active, and alive

Place as Verb – place making, place keeping

Place can be Transcended and Transcendent

Art

Art is knowledge making with place, with lived and imagined experience; mixing old stories and new stories

Resistance – active and alive counter narratives that disrupt and dismantle stuck and oppressive narratives

Is a collective learning; Place-making that plays with time and space

(Re)maps, (re)stories space and place with: Reciprocity, Dynamism, Luminosity; Perspective; Whole bodied learning; Philosophy in Action; Relationships

Raises Ethical engagement with land, self, and communities;

Involves Materiality, Affect and Sensuality; Invites Semiotic Impulses/actions through audience engagement

Activism

Place leading to collective liberation.

Art Making that pertains to our lives in the world – implying Ethics as responsible and accountable art makers/activists/researchers with land and community

Declarations of injustice through public art; Story telling – past and present – Contesting colonialism and all its boundaries, was/is a critical starting point and through line

Mutual growth and a new ethical practice of “solidarity, not charity”* in community

Anti-individualism in favour of developing and sustaining, communities of collective care – Connections to land, self and community in survival outside/beyond capitalism

Accountability and responsibility of systems and institutions to change oppressive language and practices

Collaborative research and activations with communities to create lasting change

Intentional regenerative reciprocity regarding sustainability in our relationships with the earth – Centering ourselves in nature and/or in advocacy for justice in community, are equally important themes

Some other key learnings

Clear communication around budgets and decision making at critical points in time were helpful

Production needs more time, planning ahead, energy, and sharing of roles

Watch for use of oppressive Language and Knowledge used in presentations, in systems, institutions and charities like SKETCH – actively counter it

Co-existance equals co-resistance – lessons for White people in positional power