Towards Multispecies Worldings as an Everyday Design Practice

Brief summary 

Currently, we are working on the co-creation of this event. If you have not done so, make sure to join the Discourse channel and join the conversation and further co-organisation! 

Facebook event for Part 2: https://fb.me/e/1yAvWVuHd

Invitation 

Dear friends, colleagues, and neighbours!

We, Ana Goidea, Asya Ilgün, Dilan Özkan, Phil Ayres, Svenja Keune, and Laurin Kilbert are organizing the I.N.S.E.C.T. Summercamp in August and hereby invite you to co-create Part 2 together with us.

Integrating post-anthropocentric and multispecies perspectives into our works and everyday lives is one of the biggest challenges we are facing today. There is lots of theory available, but how can we transform our strategies and practices, and how do they feel like in our bodies? How do they look, sound, smell, and taste?

We are of the opinion that in order to address complex and wide ranging dynamics such as the decline of insect population and the destructive ways we relate to ourselves, each other, and the milieu we live with, we need to reconfigure our ways of thinking, doing, and knowing, and harvest the gifts of everyone to access the intelligence of the collective. Furthermore, as the metadesign manifesto argues: “a(A)dapting to change must include re-inventing our practices AND ourselves.” 

Since you are an inspiring example with a specific practice that we want to learn from, we want to  gather you (researchers, practitioners, enthusiasts, scientists, artists, designers, beekeepers, gardeners, neighbors) on a small farm in Hvalsø, Denmark. Here, we want to spend time with you. You are invited to suggest/host/co-create/participate in events/adventures that expand our capacity to perceive, change perspective, experience, and engage with the living world around us, while having a special focus on insects. We could go for walks to look for their worlds, swim in the nearby lake, forage parts of our food, imagine and embody how bees might experience the world, and design our own rituals that help us strengthen a culture of making offerings and paying attention and gratitude to all the gifts that sustain and nurture us (so called ecosystem services). Additionally, we could listen to stories and presentations that inspire our collective imagination (dreaming). Consequently, we explore ways of relating and living with multispecies in a rural environment and create a program that emerges from within the group and hence reflects the topics and practices that move us right now. Part 2 of the I.N.S.E.C.T. Summercamp focuses on co-creation with you, professionals from different fields and backgrounds. This allows the forming of new relationships, discourses, modes of engagement, and collaborations that will challenge and advance the respective fields. 

Our intentions are: 

● engaging with diverse disciplines to develop multispecies design strategies  

● strengthening co-creation beyond and exchanging knowledges across disciplines

● training our awareness and expanding our understanding for our living environment 

● building a community for collaborations (projects, events, publications, initiatives)

● harnessing the potentials of us as co-creators, our relationships, and the emerging activities 

● establishing a forum that can foster an international network of sustainable design practitioners & researchers for the coming years 

Where will we gather?

Our co-creative gathering will take place on a small farm in Hvalsø, in an area that is part of the national park Bidstrup Skovene. Here, Svenja lives in her Tiny House on Wheels on a piece of land owned by Kirsten and Torben Oppfeldt. The Oppfeldts own a scout camp with 35 bunkbeds and a few hectares of meadow where some of us can camp in wooden shelters or tents. Furthermore, there is a huge barn, a weaving school, a sawmill and two community projects: a garden and a group of pigs held in the forest. Another piece of land with a vegetable garden and vineyard is rented to Weirdloose Overdrive. Thus, the place is a magnet for food- and weaving enthusiasts and very connected to the local arts, craft, and agricultural/nature conservation community and offers a variety of facilities, knowledge and community. 

The I.N.S.E.C.T Summercamp broadens this already existing network to all the backgrounds and links that you as co-creators bring and will be a breeding ground for future inter- and cross-disciplinary projects. 

What do we mean by co-creating? Part 2 focuses on co-creative processes which means that we organize, decide, create, and bring into life everything together. If you decide to co-create with us, we invite you into our group on Discord, where you can connect with everyone and suggest or join a focus group, depending on what you would like to contribute with. Children are welcome to join us and to explore the camp and the activities from their perspective. 

Are there any fees/costs/budget?

There is a symbolic fee on a sliding scale between 70€ and 200 € with which you secure your spot :). This fee includes the costs for accommodation (scoutcamp or camping) and most of the food. We applied for funding to cover the costs for food, accommodation, 3 assistants, a budget for each focus group, and the post-production of a short film and printed publication. With the fee, we can run the Summercamp even if we don’t receive the funding. If we do and if there is money left in the end, we can decide together what to do.     

The deadline for the payment is the 20th July - for information on how to send the payment, please check out the Discord channel!   

What are the next steps?

pre-camp: from now until August

● filling out a form to express your interest, motivation and availability before, during , and after the event :) (please do so asap)

● joining our community and discussions on Discord (we will send you a link after we received your form)

● organizing yourself into focus groups via Discord

● paying the fee (latest until mid of July)

● doing all the preparatory work necessary to come and spend time in Hvalsø :)

During-camp: August 12-19

● co-creating a great time by taking responsibility for your needs and experiences :)

post-camp: 

● we process and share the gathered multi media documentation

● some of us will work on a short film and a printed publication 

● we discuss how we want to continue to co-create

Part 1 in UK, and Part 2 in DK will be organized separately. Of course we will share our experiences from Part 1 in Part 2 in the form of a presentation and artifacts we will bring with us.

If you are interested in joining us for Part 2, please fill out this form and we will contact you. If you have any questions you can reach out to Svenja via insect.worldings@gmail.com

Our very best

Ana, Asya, Dilan, Laurin, Phil, and Svenja

Short bios