Themes
Reflecting on communication
What are the most important elements to keep in mind and how can we communicate better
Objectives
The workshop tries to deal with communication through communication, spontant artworks and performances. The final result would be an experiment on making a collective work and the group’s proposal of the key aspects of communication.
- To make participants learn more about communication through communication and collaboration
- To make them have a deeper understanding about communicating.
- To make participants learn about differences in communications and that what is important to one might be less important to someone else.
- To make participants reflect on the elements that the group decides on and work to together as a group on a collective artwork regarding those topics
Duration
- 20 min : Discussion
- 5 min : Dividing into groups
- 15 min : The smaller groups start on discussing what they want to do
- 15 min : Break
- 25 min : Smaller groups work on their contribution/on their element
- 25 min : The groups come back together and try to make a collective artwork/performance
Materials
The workshop focuses on working with what you have around you, re-using objects and creating something out of that. The list of materials includes some things that can be used for brainstorming the ideas, sketching them and also what some groups might want to work with for their performances and/or sculptures.
Here are some examples of materials that could be used:
- A4 paper
- Pencils and pens
- Pencils
- Pencil sharpener
- Erasers
- Gaffer tape
- Drill and screws
- Clay
- Scissors
- Cardboard paper
- Acrylic paint and brushes
- Cameras (for recording performances, documenting and/or making videoworks)
- Sound recorder (for soundworks)
- Wood scraps or surpluses (for sculptures)
- Fabrics
Recommended Method
Preparation
Participants should think about what they find important to communications. They should consider in what way they think communication works and when it does not. Participants should also be aware that they are going to make an artwork related to that (in collaboration with other participants) and in a short amount of time. The workshop encourages fast working methods and experimenting playfully without thinking about or expecting concrete results.
To begin with the group talks together about communication and what they consider most important to keep in mind regarding communication, how they work and how they don’t. Those elements are then isolated and the group is split into smaller groups, for example if the group decides on 5 elements that are the core of communication it splits up in 5 smaller groups that considers each element separately.
The groups are free to work with whatever medium that suits them, but it would be advisable to work with a time based and negligible medium, such as performances, videoworks, soundworks and/or quick fix sculptures. The groups then come back together, each with their element and try to let all of them work together. The final result would be an experiment on making a collective work and the group’s proposal of the key aspects of communication.
Implementation
1. All of the participants sit around in a circle. Start by explaining the aim of the workshop (that is: trying to find out our key elements of communication as a group). Discussion about what everyone in the group thinks is the most important elements to have in mind regarding communications and why. 20-25 minutes.
2. Divide the group into smaller groups, each group having at least five people. Each group is to choose one of the elements that were discussed in the circle and isolate it.
Tips for Facilitators
The workshop ends with a performance where all of the groups come back together and try to make their different artworks work as whole. Afterwards there can be a brief discussion about what they thought went well and what did not.
Debriefing and Evaluation
The workshops ends with a performance where all of the groups come backtogether and try to make their different artworks work as whole. Afterwards there can be a brief discussion about what they thought went well and what did not.
