The work within this project has somewhat changed in reaction to the precarious times we are currently in. Over a year has passed and we have not yet met in person to exchange ideas and to connect but as the work continues, we adjust.
Timetables within the project have changed and formats are being modified . For some activities, it seems apparent that we must meet in person, or at least partially – perhaps in a hybrid way.
This might be the case for the upcoming Creative Study Lab in Sweden, which will take place in September 2021 and hosted by the Världskulturmuseet. It is centred around the forth work package Designing sustainable futures, bringing together design thinkers, innovators/material technologists, museum professionals (curators and conservators) with indigenous/local knowledge holders, to use materials, techniques and (indigenous) knowledges. Offering starting points for thinking about how the museum’s collections can provide clues to more sustainable ways of caring for the earth and its resources.
On the 25th of March, the involved partners met virtually to discuss what this internal lab meeting could entail and how it could be held in a sustainable and interactive way. In these exchanges, the possible themes and speakers are discussed among researchers, curators or other colleagues working within the several institutions on TAKING CARE or related themes and projects. It was also discussed how this could interlink or lead into other activities such as the experimental exhibitions or other partner’s workshops. This included a sharing of individual plans, open questions, ideas and experiences made, in a wholly collaborative way.
It is apparent that, at the very centre of this Creative Study Lab will be the creation of a meaningful and sustainable collaboration with indigenous voices and thinking further together about topics that may include understanding, upcycling, reinventing, repurposing knowledges and techniques collectively.
And on that Thursday we came several steps closer to how this could look like. Stay tuned for how this process develops….