Making Space

To make a space together in Gjoa Haven is according to the participants of the pre-workshop all about making people welcome and comfortable, and to all be on common ground – we are all human.

During the pre-workshop many general protocols for doing so were discussed, as well as particular ones that would apply to specific parts of our workshop. Besides learning about community specific protocols for building a welcoming, comfortable and open space together, this pre-gathering also to a degree formed such a space itself.

We are gathering in openness and friendship here in this cabin. As comfortable as you make us feel, that’s the environment we should try to achieve in the gathering next week.

Besides learning about these ways of setting up a space to meet in good way, from this group, I also asked permission to trial an artistic method I had been developing. I showed them a picture of a persona I had been developing, and asked their permission to return as this persona on the second day- and discuss whether the group could see possibilities for this persona to contribute to the gathering in an appropriate way.

Take a short "Detour" to see how my persona was received when introduced to the two communities,

or,

"Return" to see the terms of engagement that we drafter together.

Detour: "Mx. Science"