The Collaborative Creativity Experience for solving cultural conficts from Window to Diversity
Imaginary Borders has being envisioned as an art for social change platform for youth in conflicted multi-ethnic societies. This new Window to Diversity Expericence engages youth into a journey of tolerance, mutual respect, intercultural dialogue and reconciliation.
This experience builds the right strategy for pouring oil on troubled waters, in states with fragile democracies experiencing cultural conflicts. The proposed workshops will facilitate the emergence and development of an intercultural, self-sustainable, collaborative and creative community, geared to help break the cycle of negative reputation and cultural prejudices that relegates youngsters marginalized social backgrounds.
1. Montaigne, 1580. Quoted in Tracy Novinger. Intercultural Communication. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2001)
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Several studies concludes that democracy is the political system that guaranteed social peace and equal civil and human rights notwithstanding their race, faith, political affiliation or cultural origins. However, in the last years, even in countries with solid democratic systems, we have witnessed new invisible borders arising which divide, stigmatize or even criminalize cultural roots as a whole. Walls granted as being abolished forever are being raised again. Sometimes an international border appoints the person living in the other side of the valley - who speaks the same language and shares the same cultural tradition- as a foreigner we are unable to visit and who we should learn to fear and hate. While at other times our neighbour at the same village becomes a persona non grata just because their family has different tribal roots, belongs to another caste or practice a different religion. Cross-cultural communication -when travelling back and forth a cultural boundary- is inherent to the way we shape our understandings of relationships, and of how to deal with the conflict and harmony that are always present whenever two or more people come together. Bringing cultural fluency to those conflicts can help all kinds of people make more intentional, adaptive choices to bridge the gap and build a plural livelihood based on democratic values. This can be done by storytelling, constructed in a way that makes room for multiple points of view within them. We are meaning-making creatures, telling stories and creating understandings develop our sense of self and relate to our purpose. As we come to realize this, we can find ways to help participants leave their concern with truth and being right on the sideline for a time, turning their attention instead to stories in which they can see themselves and understand each-other. In few words, participants will co-create art in the furtherance of a common view for peace and coexistence where democratic values, can unfold again in people's mindsets.
DUALITIES Our Guatemalan story Our Pakistani story
Step by Step
1.
This is us... How´s life around there? The workshop starts with a group discussion about the topics could be representative of the imaginary border we are addressing in each participant location. Interview script will be co-designed by participants upon 3 main questions, conceived to evince as precise imaginary border.
FIND THE TOPIC
CO-DESIGN THE SCRIPT
2. 3.
?
?
B. We also send a question too!
B. We send a question
The overall idea is to film short interviews with people which represents both sides of the imaginary border. Each time that one side is interviewed, he is asked to enunciate one question concerning the situation of someone else in same life situation but belonging to another location of the project. In this way, a dialogue between cultures is created: the focus group of location 1 hands on the videos to focus group 2... and so on.
We answer their questions too
We answer their questions
! We received
We also received
The second location group will answer the questions placed by previous group regarding the chosen topic. Uploading the answers to the videoblog, unlock their capacity to propose another new topic, thus starting a new chain. At the end, 4 microfilms per topic, 4 topics chosen, describing similarities and differences across cultures and life situations. This exercise helps us understand cultural similarities and differences from a collaborative and critical point of view.
The Imaginary Wall Step by Step
1.
This is how we use a camera...
Basics of Photography
The workshop begins teaching participants about the basics of photography
2.
Photo Relay
CHECKLIST After this theoretical-practical first phase, each youngster has 2 hours to take a picture of each of these 7 tasks within the physical space of their community.
Can i help you? Let me know
3. 4.
Tasks must be performed in order since they have been designed to increase their capacity for self-awareness and creative abstraction. The photographer will be with each participant along the process of taking the pictures and she / he will assist the student just in the technical issues. The photographer will only perform soft guidance with each participant, allowing them to find their own expressivity. Notwithstanding, participants will only count on themselves and their own creativity at the workshop in order to get those 12 pictures.
Photographic post-production
The facilitator will help each student by selecting the pictures they want to show; Later the basic editing process will be applied through a professional photographic edition software. Each participant will receive the same time and guidance during the photo selection: 1 hour.
The presentation
The final presentation will show the work done by each student at each participating location. It will be conceived as a huge photo installation with the shape of a matrix, in which the attendants will be able to compare the different approaches to the same tasks depending on their cultural imagery and each participant's own creativity.
GREAT JOB !
A self-portrait A picture about something typical in your culture A picture of something you like A picture of something you are afraid of Take a picture of something you see too often that you do not pay attention to it anymore Take a picture of something boring - or even disgusting- and make it look interesting Take a picture that represents a dream that you have
Diversity Map An adaptation of stories and tales of oral tradition from both sides of the imaginary border. The adaptation is based in illustration and audiovisual communication techniques creating an animation film. For so, drawing techniques will be taught by professional illustrators, in addition to techniques for constructing animation gadgets with materials accessible at every community.
Step by Step 1. 2.
Selecting and filming It all starts choosing a story from the oral tradition of each participant community. Once chosen, we will seek for a person from the same community to act as the “storyteller”. It could be an old lady, a professional storyteller, a teacher from the school where the activity is being realized, or even the same kids and youngsters participating. After achieving an agreement on who will tell the story, we proceed to record the tale on video.
THE STORY
professional storyteller
WHAT WE NEED
we proceed to record the tale on video.
Bringing the story into cartoons Next, taking the recorded tale as the plot, a reduced group of children will draw pictures helped by the facilitators of the workshop. The final drawing will be a sort of animated comic representing, drawing by drawing, the selected oral tale. We will be seeking the achievement of cartoons that capture their identity and cultural imagery, hence the children will be granted with total freedom of creativity to choose the techniques, color range and composition of the drawing. Thereby, the personal perception of cutural imagery will be rescued through a methodology that fosters non verbal communication and that makes participants lose their inhibition.
3. ONE BOX
Magic Box
Light bulb
Aluminium
Traslucent Paper
Cartoons
WHAT WE NEED
4.
FRONT
BEHIND
The process of drawing the picture will be filmed generating a creative effect of 2D animation. In order to do so we will use the technique of the “magic box”. This is just a cardboard box wrapped on the inside with aluminium foil or áany other reflective material. On one end of the box a slightly translucent paper is placed, which will act as a canva for drawing the pictures. The reflective material on the inside along with a determined lighting design will allow seeing the picture from the contrary side to the one being drawn in. A video camera will be placed at the back and this will be perfectly aligned with the ends of the canvas. It will film the whole process of the child creating the picture. When being recorded, it will look like the pictures are “coming from nowhere” since the video will only show the traces made by the children and since the camera is placed on the other side, the children do not appear on video. This easy process is how an animated video clip is created.
Animated Videos
RECORDING Once the magic box is constructed and the pictures conforming the tale are agreed, we will proceed to draw the pictures on the canva placed on top of the box in order to be filmed.
Hola!
Hello!
Salaam!
1.
ConversationAll Step by Step
RECORDING
Respectful and engaging talk This is our version of the story
This is how we see it
2. 3.
The idea is setting debate where both communities have representatives taking on their behalf. The objective of this debate is showing the arguments that both sides have on the issue that incites a clash between them - this is, the imaginary border that separates them. Hence, this debate must be carried on respectfully and aiming to “positivize” the discussion by finding positive arguments of both sides.
With the whole audio recorded, the participants will create a new track choosing those interventions that best represents the main ideas of the debate. This “summary” will be the base audio for the video to be presented.
Shooting FILMING
Participants proceed to shoot the images needed for the video edition following the plan within the communities involved.
This video will imply a manifesto of the youth for the need to search for a balance within communities that will eventually find a way to break down the imaginary borders that divide communities.
4.
Video Creation With the new images and taking the audio created during step 2 as the base, participants start to edit the experimental video.
The creation will be publicly shown in a video installation where participants will be able to share their experiences and their work with the public in order to spread knowledge they have acquired and contribute to cultural awareness.