OPEN CALL: SCHOOL OF DISSOLVING – EXPANDING – CONNECTING IMAGINATION

We are introducing the School of Dissolving – Expanding – Connecting (shortened version the School of Imagination), which brings together Eva Kot’áátková, Barbora Kleinhamplová, Tereza Čajková and Martin Tománek, thus combining experiences from contemporary art, decolonial perspectives and critical pedagogy.

Imagine you are a swarm of bees. Your body is shaped by many other bodies moving in sync with others. You change shape as you need to, your senses registering a spectrum of sensations from your environment, allowing you to blend, to tune, to permeate and disperse, to become part of, to vibrate, to flow. 

Imagine that you are a group of people who share the concerns of a world facing multiple crises. You are looking for ways to connect, collaborate and support, ways to face these crises together. You’re de-stressing your bodies from obedience, awakening sleepy senses. You meet regularly to warm up your imagination – which would otherwise be gradually normalized, narrowed and withered. 

We open the school of imagination as a recovery room for the senses stifled by the settings of contemporary education. We see the role of creativity, imagination and critical thinking as essential to shaping our resilience as we navigate through periods of contemporary challenge. At this time, it is crucial to direct our imagination towards forms of existence that are in harmony with the needs of humanity, as well as the planet and the non-human world. 

Join us as we explore ways to work through difficult issues using critical thinking, activating the senses and developing the imagination. We see imagination not as an escape from reality, but as a way to face it. 

The School of Dissolving – Expanding – Connecting Imagination invites you to explore together through a series of closed workshops: 
Lecturers and lecturers from the cultural sphere, students of Art Education at the Faculty of Education, and students of art schools whose intention is to pursue teaching in the future.

The School of Imagination workshops will be held in Czech language. If you are interested in this invitation, please apply here: https://forms.gle/NgqwBrVRsYWSqCQS8. 

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The School of Imagination is an initiative of the Institute of Anxiety, a research and educational platform exploring the roots of anxiety in contemporary society and seeking pathways to new ways of being, learning, perceiving, feeling. It brings together Eva Kot’atkova, Barbora Kleinhamplová, Tereza Čajková and Martin Tománek, who bring their experience from the fields of contemporary art, decolonial prespective and critical pedagogy.

What to imagine by participating in the School of Imagination? 

〰 developing a disposition that allows us to explore complex and difficult topics in a lecturing position, touching on our contemporary lives and the future. 
〰 expanding the possibilities of social and ecological imagination 
〰 expanding the range of creative experiential methods suitable for the professional activities of art lecturers 
〰 deepening work with the senses and emotions as an essential part of the educational process 
〰 introduction to the basics of critical pedagogy and systems thinking 
〰 working together in two closed creative groups supported by a methodological team 

What will it take? 
Your active and regular participation in the meetings, which will enable the continuous work of the creative groups. The workshops are free of charge.

When and where? 
There will be 8 meetings in 2 working groups from November 2022 to June 2023. We will use a closed workshop format for continuity of exploration. 

〰 1 full day intensive immersion in collaborative exploration and critical perspectives 
〰 6 half-day sessions bringing provocations and incentives for collaborative experimentation 
〰 1 full-day session for integrating experiences and insights 

We invite you to join one of the two groups on the following dates: 
GROUP 1 (Fridays): 
Introduction to the process of joint exploration and perspective-taking (8 hours): 
1. meeting: November 4th (10AM—6PM + an evening with a fire) 
Regular half-day meetings to experience common experimental methods that you can develop in your practice (5 hours): 
2. meeting: December 2nd (1—6PM) 
3. meeting: January 6th (1—6PM) 
4. meeting: February 10th (1—6PM) 
5. meeting: March 10th (1—6PM) 
6. meeting: April 14th (1—6PM) 
7. meeting: May 12th (1—6PM) 
Final reflective meeting (9 hours): 
8. meeting: June 9th (10AM—6PM + an evening with a fire)

GROUP 2 (Saturdays) 
Introduction to the process of joint exploration and perspective-taking (8 hours):  
1. meeting: November 5th (10AM—6PM + evening with a fire) 
Regular half-day meetings to experience common experimental methods that you can develop in your practice (5 hours): 
2. meeting: December 3rd (1—6PM) 
3. meeting: January 7th (1—6PM) 
4. meeting: February 11th (1—6PM) 
5. meeting: March 10th (1—6PM) 
6. meeting: April 15th (1—6PM)) 
7. meeting: May 13th (1—6PM) 
Final reflective meeting (9 hours): 
8. meeting: June 10th (10AM—6PM + an evening with a fire)

If you are interested in participating in The School of Dissolving – Expanding – Connecting Imagination, please apply by October 14th!!! by filling the registration form. 
Link: https://forms.gle/NgqwBrVRsYWSqCQS8

We will review individual applications after the application period and will let you know by October 16, 2022 if we can welcome you in one of the groups. 

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The project ŠKOLA ROZPOUŠTĚNÍ – ROZŠIŘOVÁNÍ – PROPOJOVÁNÍ IMAGINACE is realised with the financial support of the Europian Union.