Creating Refuge: Community Building Through Creative Practice

In an era when contemporary politics feels stuck, when the very institutions entrusted to provide safety and care are the site of othering instead of belonging, or when we live in an increasingly digital era where it becomes easier to be exhausted by the mental load of caring, than it is to care at all, how can we move beyond conventional actions that continue to fail us, and adapt to new ways of leading anchored in kinship, reciprocity, and generosity that emphasizes not just doing, but a state of being? In times of polarization, let’s create refuge - opening space for the unexpected, welcoming radical hospitality for the “other”. In this workshop, we will practice inhabiting the sanctuaries we long for, cultivating our senses towards embodiment, connecting to lineages of creative resilience. This hands-on workshop will introduce several activities to center creative practice, and invite discussion about adapting our work during these complicated times.

Presenters: Jenna Vendil, Associate Director of Democratic Engagement and Student Activism
Sponsor: Harward Center for Community Partnerships