weaving Voices 01.04.2025 issuu - Flipbook - Page 87
• The game continues until it ends, or until we run out of yarn. By
which point, there is a web of connection that helps us to visualise
the various moments of connection we have witnessed.
• Then we place the ‘web’ on the floor, and discuss our experience
of the task, before deciding what to do with the web together (for
example photograph it, cut it up and keep a piece each, draw it, use
it for something else later on…).
Option 2 (if there is not a shared language or I don’t yet know if
there is)
I call this one ‘here I am’. It might be useful to invite everyone to
wear a name sticker before we begin.
• Standing in a circle, I introduce myself. I can only say my name
(in as many ways as I like), before adding some form of gesture
or showing an object or expression. For example, I say “Hannah”
numerous times, in different ways. I point to the sunflower on
my t-shirt, I perform a cooking-related gesture, I close my eyes, I
imagine listening to a favourite song.
• When I am done, I turn my attention to the person next to me and
invite them (non-verbally) to do the same.
• The game ends when each person has taken some time to
introduce themselves. If the first round was fast, we might go round
again for more detailed introductions. This should feel light, gentle
and non-confrontational. People are encouraged to take their time.
They can ‘pass it on’ whenever they choose.
• A variation of this task is to walk to someone across the circle
when you are done, rather than going round in sequence. This can
help minimise the fear of “I’m next!”.
e Eating and Einstein
Eating together is one of the most simple and useful ways of
developing a connection with others I can think of. In the early
days of delivering arts workshops to support refugees develop
conversational English, this became one of the core components of
any workshop. Sharing food, recipes, stories and preferences, and
fertile groundwork for creative exploration and collaboration. (HB)
172
Einstein connected the disciplines of science and art, recognised
the importance of staying curious and not attaching to what he
already knew. “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.
Imagination encircles the world.”145
a Academic artists
Academic artists (those working within the university or Higher
Education sector at least in the UK context) have a dual role to both
teach and engage in research and scholarly activity. The Academic
community has a shared set of values, and those of us working here
are encouraged in the pursuit and discovery of new knowledge, and
with a duty to push the boundaries of knowledge. The testing of
received knowledge and wisdom is a large part of the job here and
collaborating with academic artists can open pathways towards
understanding how to creatively, responsibly, and effectively
disseminate and effectively apply that knowledge. Additional
benefits afforded academic artists are access to a student body
who can often make important contributions to creative projects.
Our student volunteers in Leeds supported us as project leaders in
a wide variety of ambassadorial and production roles. They gained
essential and valuable real-world experience as well as developing
their professional networks. (TB)
d Diversity
It’s August 2023 and we are in Leeds City Museum in Leeds, UK.
Weaving Voices partners and participants have gathered in a room
to explore the notion of finding and using our voices. We have a
wide range of reasons for being in this room today. Between us,
we speak seventeen languages. We were born in fourteen different
countries, on four different continents. Some of us were born in
the UK. Many of us have different legal status here. Some of us are
European Economic Area Citizens. Some of us have been granted
Leave to Remain in the UK. Some of us are Undocumented Migrants.
145 What Life Means to Einstein: An Interview by George Sylvester Viereck - The Saturday Evening Post October 26, 1929 (n.d.) Saturday Evening Post. Available at: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/
uploads/satevepost/what_life_means_to_einstein.pdf [Accessed 22 Sept. 2024].
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