Utopia Lab: Seats at the Table
In this session, Dr Jimmy Turner and Francesca Vale will present their visions of a utopia in which everyone has an equal but individual seat at the table.
About Utopia Lab: Seats at the Table
This workshop takes place over 14th & 15th November. Please note – we require that attendees are present for the entirety of both days of this event.
Our Utopia Labs are ‘no-spaces’, places where everyone is welcome to join us in dreaming futures that inspire our experience of the present.
The term utopia was coined from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island society in the Atlantic Ocean.
The word comes from Greek: οὐ (“not”) and τόποσ (“place”) and means “no-place”, and strictly describes any non-existent society ‘described in considerable detail’.[i]
In this session, Dr Jimmy Turner and Francesca Vale will present their visions of a utopia in which everyone has an equal but individual seat at the table. On our own and in groups, we will respond to these visions by designing and creating chairs that offer comfort and community to people of all descriptions and abilities. The chairs we produce will then be the starting point for a curatorial exploration in which we consider how the chairs interact with one another and what they represent for the world or worlds they inhabit. We will consider what Utopia means and how it could be a useful crucible in which to explore positive change.
Day 1: Sharing and Making: 14 November, 10am-4pm
Day 2: Curating and Contemplating: 15 November, Exhibition 2:30pm - 4pm
Tickets are free but booking is essential.
Lunch and materials for creating will be provided. The lab will also include meditation, poetry reading/listening and simple movement and breathing exercises. All body types and levels of experience welcome.
Please note – we require that attendees are present for the entirety of both days of this event.
Utopia is a ‘no-space’ for contemplation, innovation and collaboration. Our labs curate interactions between academics, artists, entrepreneurs, students and audiences in person and online globally. We are interested in that which is provocative and irreverent as well as that which is nurturing and joyful. Utopia questions are catalysts for inquiry, learning and creativity. With an emphasis on innovative and experimental ways of communicating, we will explore meditation, dialogue and co-creation with the help of a facilitator. Participants consist of University staff and students, and non-University practitioners.
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